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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26457718">Feel Better</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/abaguettewithaface/pseuds/abaguettewithaface'>abaguettewithaface</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alpha Otabek Altin, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - High School, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Angst, Bottom Yuri Plisetsky, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Heart Attacks, Intimacy, Knotting, M/M, Minor Character Death, Omega Yuri Plisetsky, Oral Sex, Possessive Behavior, Protective Otabek Altin, Smut, Top Otabek Altin, YOI Omegaverse Week</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 07:21:46</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>45,898</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26457718</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/abaguettewithaface/pseuds/abaguettewithaface</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"The blond turned their head, hair swinging fluidly, and Otabek could tell he was a guy. He had a pretty face but was definitely a dude. Round lips and high cheekbones. His eyes were stunningly green and his freckles made his skin glow. He had a sharp jawline and a long neck leading to defined collarbones partially hidden under his shirt. Male omegas were fairly rare."</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov, Mila Babicheva/Jean-Jacques Leroy, Otabek Altin/Yuri Plisetsky, Slight Yuri/JJ</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>202</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. I</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I wrote this a super long time ago, and never really intended to post it, so it's probably got some spelling and punctuation errors, but I'm way too lazy to go through and edit this. Hope you will enjoy regardless.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Otabek’s first day started with blaring metal music. He could hear his younger sister, Ayana, in the bathroom down the hall from his bedroom. He didn’t know why she always needed to blow dry her hair, because it was so short she could towel dry it, but she couldn’t be swayed. Otabek laid in bed for an extra 30 minutes because he’d been smart enough to shower the night before.</p><p>He threw on a plain white shirt, black jeans, and converse. He didn’t bother to comb his hair, knowing it would only make it frizzy. He’d just gotten the sides trimmed so it looked alright anyway. He made sure to grab his earbuds, knowing he’d regret it if he didn’t bring them.</p><p>By the time Ayana was ready to go, Otabek had been scrolling through Instagram for 10 minutes. He chose the music because he was the driver, regardless of his sister’s protests.</p><p>Otabek wondered how cool it would be to show up to school on his motorcycle… But Ayana refused to ride on it, so it was left in the garage. Sadly, it would probably stay there until he moved out of the house.</p><p>Otabek had to park in the back of the parking lot because he didn’t have a parking sticker. “Ugh. You could’ve dropped me off in the front…” Ayana complained as they got out. </p><p>The parking lot was filling up quickly as more students arrived, getting out of their cars. Sometimes alone, sometimes in groups, students were walking on the sidewalk towards the front entrance. It was a pretty nice day out, no clouds in the sky, yet it was still breezy enough that he wasn’t sweating under the sun.</p><p>“You need the exercise.” Otabek said, smirking at his sister’s offended gasp. Ayana really didn’t need the exercise. She was an omega, skinny as a stick and two whole heads shorter than he was, but Otabek liked to give her a hard time every once in a while. If anyone else ever tried that, they’d have another thing coming though...</p><p>“Whatever!” Ayana grumbled. “You’re just built like an alpha… Some of us actually have to work to be in shape!”</p><p>Otabek laughed as they walked. “What’s your first class?” </p><p>“Uh.” Ayana scrambled to pull out her schedule list. “Earth Science. No idea where it is though. What about you?”</p><p>Otabek pulled out his phone and checked his own schedule. “AP Psychology.” The crowd of teenagers got more dense as they stepped into the school. The foyer was so full they could barely get through. His nose was assaulted with the smell of teenagers, and though they mostly blended together, he grimaced at it.</p><p>“I’m gonna go find my class!” Ayana yelled over the crowd and slipped away before Otabek could reply. He glanced down to his own schedule and frowned. It was 7:36, meaning he had a bit of time to find his class, but he always preferred to get there early.</p><p>He surveyed everyone around him. Students had already formed their own little cliques, so he looked for one that seemed approachable.</p><p>It was then that he saw him. Or her? He didn’t know exactly; their back was turned. They had a petite body, short and thin. Long blonde hair draped around their shoulders like a curtain. They had on an oversized black sweatshirt and black leggings tucked into muddy black boots. They had a light brown backpack on and a sketchbook tucked under their arm. The sweatshirt concealed the shape of their upper body but their legs were long and elegantly curved in all the right places. Otabek didn’t need their scent to know they were an omega.</p><p>They were talking to another boy and girl, who both seemed to be in good spirits judging by the expressions on their faces. He figured those three seemed like as good a group as any to ask for directions.</p><p>“Excuse me.” he tapped the blonde’s shoulder. “Could I ask for some directions?”</p><p>The blond turned their head, hair swinging fluidly, and Otabek could tell he was a guy. He had a pretty face but was definitely a dude. Round lips and high cheekbones. His eyes were stunningly green and his freckles made his skin glow. He had a sharp jawline and a long neck leading to defined collarbones partially hidden under his shirt. Male omegas were fairly rare.</p><p>“Um. Sure.” The blond stammered, and Otabek could tell he’d been taken off guard. Cute. “Can I see your schedule?” His voice sort of breathy, which made him sound more feminine, but Otabek liked it.</p><p>“Yeah, here.” he said, and showed his phone screen. When the boy leaned in to see, he could smell some type of shampoo. He couldn’t really define it as anything other than fresh. He liked the smell nonetheless.</p><p>“AP Psych. We have the same first period.” the boy realized with a shy smile. </p><p>“Oh cool.” Otabek smiled. He was definitely happy about spending more time with this boy.</p><p>“We can walk together if you want?” he suggested timidly. “Um. My name is Yuri. This is JJ and Mila.”</p><p>“Hi.” Mila greeted as she looked up from her phone. The first thing he noticed about her was her hair. It was bright red, obviously dyed, cut in a wavy bob style. She had on a black crop top and black leggings. Her phone case was red and sparkly, and her nails were bright red and finely manicured. Her body was thin and tall, though Otabek couldn’t smell her at all, meaning she had to be on suppressants. Meaning she was probably an omega as well. </p><p>“Hey.” JJ grinned, looking him up and down. He was a tall guy, taller than Otabek and obviously an alpha. Otabek couldn’t smell him, and he asserted a dominant energy in the way he stood. He had a blue flannel on with blue jeans and sneakers. He seemed friendly enough. He hadn’t tried to bite his face off for coming near his friends yet.</p><p>“I’m Otabek.” he said, and Yuri mouthed it silently as if trying to commit it to memory. Otabek thought it was endearing, but maybe he stared at the boy’s round lips a little too long.</p><p>“Sounds exotic.” JJ commented, and Mila slapped his chest with an incredulous look on her face. </p><p>“Ignore him.” Mila said.</p><p>Otabek laughed, used to this reaction. “It’s Kazakh.”</p><p>“My name is Canadian?” JJ offered with a shrug.</p><p>“Very impressive, JJ.” Yuri complimented sarcastically.</p><p>“Thank you.” JJ feigned heartfelt gratitude, covering his heart with his hand. “You should compliment me more, Yuri.”</p><p>“I think that would inflate your ego a little too much.” Yuri sassed, crossing his arms and smirking playfully at JJ.</p><p>“What! My ego has nothing to do with-”</p><p>“JJ!” Mila shouted, directly into his ear.</p><p>“WHAT?” practically screeched, practically jumping out of his skin.</p><p>“Shut up.” she said sweetly. </p><p>Otabek watched the three of them with an amused smile on his face. They all seemed very close. They were able to make fun of each other without fear of actually upsetting each other. They were able to make fun of the alpha without fear of actually upsetting him, which said even more.</p><p>“I can’t believe you two. I need better friends.” JJ pouted, crossing his arms.</p><p>“Aw…” Yuri cooed, brushing up and down JJ’s arms as if to comfort him. “You poor baby...” Otabek felt a little pang of jealousy despite the fact that Yuri was being sarcastic. JJ only glowered and his pouting intensified.</p><p>“We should get to class.” Mila said suddenly, checking the time on her phone. “Come on JJ. Stop being a baby, let’s go.” She poked his side until he followed her reluctantly. </p><p>Yuri laughed awkwardly and turned to Otabek. “I guess we should go too.”</p><p>“Yeah. Which way is it?”</p><p>“This way.” Yuri tugged on his wrist a little and Otabek was slightly disappointed when he let go.</p><p>“So, have you been at this school for a while?” Otabek asked, following him eagerly.</p><p>“Yeah. I’ve lived here for a few years. How about you?”</p><p>“Just moved here from Chicago.”</p><p>“Why would you move here from Chicago?” Yuri laughed. </p><p>“My dad was offered a job, and I have an uncle in town so…” he said.</p><p>“Ah. We’re here.” Yuri said. The door was open and they went in. The teacher, Mr. Cory, was sitting behind his desk with his nose buried in some kind of paperwork. Otabek wondered what kind of paperwork a teacher would have to do so early in the school year. There were only a few students in the classroom, and Yuri lead them to a couple of seats. “This okay?”</p><p>“Yeah.” Otabek smiled and set his bag down on the floor before sitting beside Yuri. They were in the back row near the windows. There didn’t seem to be a seating chart or anything so Otabek leaned back and crossed his ankles. “Do you usually sit in the back?”</p><p>“Usually. I don’t like when people are behind me.” Yuri said, offhandedly. “We can sit closer if you want though.”</p><p>“No, that’s okay.” Otabek assured him, smiling at his nervousness. “I usually sit in the back too. This way I can get away with listening to music and napping.”</p><p>He found it was really easy to talk to Yuri, regardless of his nervousness. He seemed really nice and smart and he was really pretty. Otabek was already developing a huge crush.</p><p>More and more people started coming in and sitting down. A few people said hi to Yuri as they passed but none struck up conversation. Yuri seemed pretty shy without his friends around; he had his hands clasped in his lap and his shoulders were tense. Maybe he was anxious?</p><p>“There’s not that many people in this class. I’m used to having like 35+ people back in Chicago.” he commented, leaning a little closer to Yuri, though he was careful not to smother him. He hoped he wasn’t coming on too strong. Maybe he was the reason Yuri was anxious? He was an unfamiliar alpha… </p><p>“Really? We have maybe 20 to 25 in every class.” he mumbled, and Otabek wondered if he was helping by keeping conversation going. Yuri was sat in the corner, and nobody was sitting directly in front of him. Maybe that was on purpose.</p><p>“I think I like Iowa.” Otabek continued. “It’s less crowded here.”</p><p>“Yeah. I don’t think I’d like living in a big city…” Yuri admitted. “I live on a farm so it’s pretty quiet. Uh, except for the machinery I guess...”</p><p>“You do?” Otabek smiled. “I’ve never been on a farm. It seems like a lot of work.”</p><p>“I don’t do much, actually. Sometimes I take care of the animals, but usually my grandpa has people to do that for us.” Yuri explained. Otabek didn’t have time to say anything else before the bell rang and Mr. Cory was calling for everyone’s attention. They didn’t do much in class, as expected for the first day. It was pretty much just expectations and rules. The teacher said they’d be going over the syllabus tomorrow.</p><p>About 20 minutes into class, Yuri started drawing in his sketchbook. He was sort of hunched over his desk, his hair obscuring the paper from Otabek’s view most of the time. He only caught a glimpse of a sketched out figure on the page whenever Yuri looked up to make sure he hadn’t missed any important instruction. </p><p>It appeared to be a random person, wearing a sweatshirt and jeans. They were a student, Otabek inferred, because they had a backpack. The body was left ambiguous, and Yuri hadn’t drawn the head yet, so he didn’t know the gender of the person. </p><p>Otabek was impressed by how good Yuri was for how young he was. His lines were crisp and the proportions of the body looked pretty accurate. Even the folds of the clothes really looked like clothes. He couldn’t help but peer over his shoulder, but when Yuri caught him he quietly apologized and gave the omega more space for the rest of class.</p><p>When the bell rang, Otabek was disappointed to be leaving Yuri, but he really had to find his next classroom. The day went by slowly until lunch. He texted Ayana to meet him in the cafeteria and they sat together out on the patio after grabbing their trays of food. He didn’t see Yuri anywhere in the cafeteria and wondered where he was.</p><p>“So how has school been today?” Otabek asked as they ate.</p><p>“Ugh. It was okay. I don’t know anybody so I guess it was just… fine.” Ayana said, picking at her food. “How about you?”</p><p>“I met a few people. But otherwise, same. It was fine.” Otabek replied. “The food’s different here.”</p><p>“Yeah. It’s actually good!” Ayana sassed, distractedly scrolling through her phone.</p><p>~~~</p><p>Otabek discovered he had Chemistry with Yuri, Mila, and JJ. As he walked into the class, he smiled and they smiled too when they saw him. “Hey, dude!” JJ grinned.</p><p>“Hey.” he smiled. The desks were set up with two chairs to a table, all facing the front of the room where the teacher sat at her desk, talking to a couple students.</p><p>Of course, Yuri again opted for the back corner seat. Mila had been sitting beside him, but quickly gave up her seat for Otabek. He tried to protest that she didn’t need to, but she was already sitting beside JJ right in front of them. Yuri’s face was red and he stammered out a greeting as he sat down beside him. Cute.</p><p>“Hey, do you have Snapchat, Becks? Can I call you that?” JJ asked, sitting backwards in his chair. Otabek wasn’t surprised by that nickname, as it was exactly what most people called him at his last school.</p><p>“Yeah and yeah.” he said, getting out his phone. He let them scan his snapcode and got three notifications saying he was added.</p><p>“Cool, thanks.” JJ said. He received a silly selfie from JJ after a couple seconds. He replied with a zoomed in picture of a freckle on the back of JJ’s neck.</p><p>Once again, Yuri passed the time in class by drawing. He was working on the same page as earlier, but there were now many more figures on it. A boy walking his dog. A girl doing ballet. A girl sitting with her knees crossed, knitting. Otabek didn’t want to intrude on Yuri’s space again, so he managed to restrain himself from blatantly staring at his art, though he found it sort of hypnotic to watch.</p><p>The rest of the day went by pretty slowly. JJ goofed off the rest of class and then Otabek had to fend for himself for a while. </p><p>He saw Yuri in the boys’ locker room during 7th period, but they had different gym classes, just at the same time. Yuri smiled at him from across the room before setting up his locker. Sadly, they were assigned, but at least they could see each other right when school got out. </p><p>Yuri approached him just after the last bell rang, in the locker room. Nobody had actually changed clothes that day because teachers were going over expectations, but most of the PE rooms were connected by the locker rooms. “Hey.”</p><p>Otabek looked up from his phone where he was texting his sister to meet him in the parking lot. “Hey.” Otabek shouldered his bag and they followed the stream of students out of the locker room.</p><p>“What PE class do you have?” Yuri asked as they walked. His arms were crossed over his chest but he seemed to be in a good mood.</p><p>“Uh. Weightlifting. You?”</p><p>“Personal fitness. It’s pretty much yoga.” he said, and Otabek almost couldn’t hear him over the crowd of the hallway. He definitely didn’t get distracted by the thought of Yuri bent over in skin tight yoga pants.</p><p>“Where you headed?” he asked, changing the subject abruptly, before his mind could conjure up anything else.</p><p>“Usually my friends and I meet up by the parking lot.”</p><p>“Cool. I’m headed that way too.” Otabek said. "I gotta drive my sister home.”</p><p>“You have a sister?” Yuri asked.</p><p>“Yeah. She’s a freshman this year.” Otabek said as they reached the foyer. Yuri grabbed onto Otabek’s sleeve so he wouldn’t get separated and Otabek found it ridiculously adorable. It almost looked like they were holding hands.</p><p>“What grade are you in? I’m a sophomore.” Yuri said, having to raise his voice a little as Otabek lead him through the crowd.</p><p>“Junior. How are you in Chemistry then? That’s a junior class.”</p><p>“Advanced classes.” Yuri said, blushing. Otabek smiled at him as he tried to play it off as not a big deal. As they exited the building, the crowd around them dispersed along the sidewalk and into the parking lot. </p><p>He followed Yuri to where JJ and Mila were leaning against the brick wall of the building. JJ’s arm was around her, but he quickly dropped it as soon as he saw them.</p><p>“Hey guys.” JJ greeted, raising a hand.</p><p>“Hey.” Yuri said slowly, almost apprehensively. Otabek looked between them for a moment, noticing Mila’s frown and JJ’s sheepish expression. “Beka and I both have gym last period, so.”</p><p>Beka? Otabek looked at him with shock, as only his family really called him that. He couldn’t say he particularly minded though if it was coming from Yuri. He’d only known this boy for a few hours and yet he was already so infatuated…</p><p>“Plus, I gotta drive my little sister home too.” Otabek said, sensing the slightly tense atmosphere and knowing if he didn’t fill the silence, it would become awkward. </p><p>“I usually drive JJ and Yuri home.” Mila said, finally. Otabek could tell by her tone she was irritated. “Where’s your sister?”</p><p>“Uh.” Otabek looked around, but didn’t see her. “Probably waiting by my car. It’s near the back so I can’t see it from here.” he explained.</p><p>“Yeah, you should get a parking sticker from the main office. They’re only 20 bucks this early in the year. They get more expensive the longer you wait.” Mila said, obviously grasping for straws to keep the conversation from getting awkward.</p><p>“Good to know.” Otabek commented. He internally cringed as another silence threatened to fall upon them. “I better go. Ayana is probably waiting for me.”</p><p>“Oh.” Yuri seemed a little disappointed, and he hated to leave him with that expression on his face, but his sister probably really was waiting on him.</p><p>“I’ll see you guys tomorrow?” Otabek offered, lightly brushing Yuri’s arm as he began to walk away. Mila and JJ called out goodbyes as he crossed the road and headed for his car. </p><p>He took a deep breath and shook his head. So Mila and JJ had… something… going on. And for some reason, JJ didn’t want them to see it? He hoped Yuri wasn’t involved with anyone. That would really suck, considering how those three were his most promising candidates for a friend group at this school.</p><p>He unhooked his key ring from his belt loop and used the key fob to unlock the car. He smirked as it appeared to have startled Ayana, who was leaning against the car staring at her phone. The ride home was filled with Ayana going on about her struggles and Otabek refraining from talking about his (fairly good) first day at their new school. He bought them both shakes from DQ, using some of his saved money from his old job in Chicago, to make up for Ayana’s bad day.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. II</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Otabek found he was significantly more motivated to get out of bed with the incentive of seeing Yuri at school. He snagged the shower before his sister was even awake and got to see his dad briefly before the man left for work. His mom had the day off and he knew she’d probably sleep in.</p><p>He looked through his friends’ Snapchat stories as he ate cereal, waiting for Ayana to get ready. Yuri’s Story was a picture of an old man being practically smothered by a cat in a wooden rocking chair, no caption. Otabek smiled and realized this was probably Yuri’s grandfather. </p><p>O: what is your cat’s name?</p><p>It took a few minutes for Yuri to respond, but Otabek’s heart beat slightly faster when he saw the notification.</p><p>Y: her name is Potya &lt;3<br/>O: cute</p><p>Yuri was typing for a moment, but didn’t reply. </p><p>The car ride was filled with Rage Against The Machine despite many complaints from his sister. Once again, Ayana disappeared as soon as they entered the foyer, and Otabek looked for his new friends. He found them near the same spot as the day before, near the trophy cases in front of the stairs.</p><p>It seemed the tense uneasiness of yesterday afternoon was gone, and Otabek was glad. He was a little smug at how Yuri naturally gravitated towards him, even though it was obvious the other two were very close.</p><p>Yuri had on an outfit similar to yesterday, except his sweatshirt was gray today and his hair was pulled into a messy bun that framed his face beautifully.</p><p>“Yurio!” someone yelled, and practically tackled Yuri in a big hug. The guy was tall and wiry with dyed silver hair, obviously built like an alpha. He squished his face against Yuri’s with childlike glee. An Asian boy was behind him, watching with a fond smile as Yuri protested the hug, but Otabek could see his hands fisted in the other boy’s shirt. There was that little pang of jealousy again, but he shoved it down.</p><p>“Back from vacation finally, Viktor?” Mila laughed when said person released Yuri and went on to hug her and JJ. </p><p>“Yes! I missed you guys! Who’s this?” he asked, turning to Otabek with a friendly smile. He seemed to have boundless energy and hung off of the Asian boy’s shoulder happily.</p><p>“This is Otabek.” Yuri introduced with a shy smile.</p><p>“Hi.” he greeted, keeping his expression friendly,</p><p>“Sounds exotic.” Viktor commented, obviously having no filter, but Otabek didn’t really mind.</p><p>“That’s what I said!” JJ grinned and high fived Viktor.</p><p>“I’m Viktor, this is my boyfriend Yuuri.” he said, gesturing to the boy he had his arms wrapped around. </p><p>Yuuri raised a hand in greeting. He looked like a beta, but Otabek honestly couldn’t tell with the baggy clothes he was wearing. His scent was earthy, he supposed. Not particularly sweet like an omega, or musky like an alpha. The fact that Otabek could smell him at all confirmed he was a beta. Only alphas and omegas were required to take suppressants.</p><p>Otabek was a little surprised that they were open about their relationship. It was sort of uncommon for alphas or omegas to date betas, and there was a bit of a social stigma about it. Most betas were barren, and people viewed them as the sort of… worker bees of humanity, however unfair that was.</p><p>“Are we adopting this boy into our group?” Viktor grinned, excitedly.</p><p>Otabek gave a sort of confused smile as everyone agreed to ‘adopt’ him. He didn’t protest though as Viktor went into a wild monologue about his vacation to Florida. Otabek allowed himself to sneak little glances at Yuri now that the attention was off of him.</p><p>Viktor was cut short when Mila interrupted him, saying they’d all better get to class. Yuri tugged Otabek away by the sleeve again and they were on their way.</p><p>“Sorry about Viktor. He’s kind of intense.” Yuri breathed once they got out of the foyer. “But, if you are being adopted by us… would you want to sit with us at lunch?”</p><p>“Um, sure. Where?” Otabek asked, lowkey delighted Yuri asked him.</p><p>“We eat in Mr. Feltsman’s classroom. He’s a friend of my grandpa so he lets us use his classroom during lunch.” Yuri explained.</p><p>“Can my sister come too? I don’t want to leave her all alone at lunch…” Otabek asked. He knew he probably sounded like a dork, but he didn’t want to add anymore stress to Ayana’s day than she already has. It was her first week of highschool afterall, in a new school with no friends.</p><p>“Sure, that’s fine.” Yuri smiled as they sat down at their desks.</p><p>“Cool.” Otabek smiled back.</p><p>“Well, his room number is 359. Do… you want me to wait in the cafeteria and I’ll show you where it is?” Yuri asked slowly, averting his eyes and fidgeting with his hands in his lap.</p><p>“That’d be great.” Otabek smirked slightly at his nervousness. “You’re so sweet, Yuri.” he added, just to see Yuri blush even more. Yuri tried to hide his smile behind his hair but Otabek saw it. It was probably the brightest smile he’d ever seen. He wanted to see it all the time.</p><p>“It’s nothing…” Yuri assured softly, leaning his elbows on the desk and finally looking at him with a happy content expression on his face.</p><p>All throughout class, the two were sneaking little glances at each other, though Yuri was much more shy about it than he was.</p><p>At lunch, true to his word, Yuri met them in the cafeteria. He hadn’t even seen Yuri, but rather felt someone tug on his sleeve from behind him. He turned and a smile formed on his lips before he could stop himself. Ayana, of course, noticed his crush right away. The entire walk to Mr. Feltsman’s classroom, she was subtly teasing him about it.</p><p>Yuri seemed extra anxious. Otabek could sense it even though Yuri was on suppressants, as all omegas and alphas in public school were required to be. He knew his sister’s scent very well because she was family, so he knew it wasn’t coming from Ayana. It was faint, but impossible to mistake. From the way Yuri spoke a little too fast to the slightly sour scent he was giving off, Otabek knew. </p><p>He didn’t know for sure what was causing it. Would it help if he was closer? Or should he keep his distance? He couldn’t tell if it was simply the fact that he was an alpha, which very well could be the case. Plenty of omegas got anxious around unfamiliar alphas, but… Otabek didn’t want to be unfamiliar. He wanted to reach out and hold his hand, but that might only make it worse… He didn’t like this, but he couldn’t fix it, so he just had to try to ignore it.</p><p>It seemed Yuri’s friends had a bit of a pack going on. Otabek figured he and his sister would find their places after a while, but it seemed Viktor was their ‘leader’ of sorts. It was familial. They seemed very protective of each other, and Otabek wondered how long they’d all known each other.</p><p>That said, lunch went pretty well. He sat beside Yuri and his sister and even though he didn’t say much, he felt included by everyone. When it ended, he walked with JJ, Mila, and Yuri to Chemistry. Yuri had calmed down now, surrounded by all his friends, but Otabek couldn’t stop thinking about it. Why had he been so distressed? Was it Otabek? Maybe he was coming on too strong… </p><p>It plagued his thoughts the rest of the day.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. III</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Yuri felt like he was going to spontaneously combust. He sat in the very back corner during Chemistry, right next to Otabek. The teacher was droning on about the syllabus and Yuri couldn’t focus on a thing she was saying. </p><p>He was particularly irritable today, as it was his first day of heat. Dry heat, but still. The suppressants usually made his heats less often and easier to deal with -most of the time nobody even knew he was in heat because he was good at hiding it, but not this time. He knew his friends knew something was up. He wasn’t like this earlier in the day, so he must have noticed the stark contrast in his behavior.</p><p>He’d been going through hot flashes all day, and they were absolutely terrible. His skin felt like it was literally on fire. Or like when you accidentally touch the inside of a hot oven, only it was everywhere, and the pain lasted much longer. Sometimes it burned so much it felt cold. </p><p>He didn’t know why his heat was so intense this time, but he had a feeling it was because he hadn’t been genuinely interested in anyone since he presented, until now. He almost wished Otabek wouldn’t sit so close to him. On one hand, he really liked having the alpha near him, but he also knew having Otabek so close was definitely not helping his heat.</p><p>He couldn’t even draw properly, which really pissed him off. His hands were shaking too much to draw a straight line, and he couldn’t focus on it anyway, because his mind was so scrambled.</p><p>He was civil, as always, but in his mind he was thinking of different ways to murder the people sitting on Otabek’s other side, goofing around and talking just loud enough to distract him and just quiet enough that the teacher couldn’t hear them. It wasn’t all that important that he pay attention to the syllabus, but everything was irritating him.  </p><p>The way JJ was shaking his leg, the pen clicking from a couple rows in front of him, the too-warm temperature in the room -that nobody else seemed to be bothered by, the hairs sticking to his neck and the way he felt his heart speed up whenever Otabek so much as looked at him. He knew it was his heat making him so damn sensitive, so he just kept his mouth shut.</p><p>When the bell rang, he grabbed his bag and followed Otabek through the labyrinth of desks. “I’ll see you in 7th.” Otabek smiled and brushed his arm as they parted in the hallway. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows and his skin tingled where Otabek’s fingers just barely touched him. Otabek disappeared into the crowd before he could find words to reply, so he gulped and started walking to his next class.</p><p>~~~</p><p>When Yuri got to the boy’s locker room at the beginning of 7th period, he went straight to his locker. Boys were changing all around him, the sound of lockers clanging and rattling, guys talking and laughing making him want to hurry. </p><p>He didn’t really like to show off his body. His figure was petite, thin and soft like most omegas were, but there weren’t many male omegas as it was more common for girls to be omegas, meaning most of the boys in the locker room were either betas or alphas. He knew it shouldn’t matter because of the school-supplied suppressants, but still. Call him a prude, but he had never been comfortable showing much skin in front of strangers…</p><p>He felt a little embarrassed at changing in front of so many people, including Otabek, but he forced himself to just do it. Luckily, he had worn leggings to school today so he didn’t need to change out of his pants. Reluctantly, he pulled his sweatshirt over his head. He was facing his locker, but he could feel the prickly stares of alphas and betas alike on his back. He changed as fast as he could, pulling on his gym tee shirt out of his bag.</p><p>He’d kept his gaze on the floor up until then, too bashful to even risk making eye contact with anyone while he was changing. He looked up to see Otabek changing into his gym clothes, just a different shirt and a pair of sweatpants. He couldn’t help it when his eyes lingered just a little too long on his back, watching his muscles shift as he pulled his shirt over his head. Thankfully, he had his back turned, and Yuri shook his head, as if that would help clear his mind. He zipped up his bag and headed out into the small gym, which was where Personal Fitness was held.</p><p>He was still overheating, obviously. It was the one thing he absolutely hated about heats. He could deal with the terrible irritability and the horniness, but he hated the hot flashes the most. Sadly, there wasn’t much he could do that he hadn’t already tried. It had taken him two heats, an entire year, to find the suppressants that actually worked for him. Hot flashes were the symptoms of it. He didn’t want to deal with any more changes to his medication, so he dealt with it.</p><p>The teacher was a female alpha, and most of the students in his class were female omegas. He wasn’t particularly surprised, as yoga was pretty feminine, he supposed. It was sort of nice, actually. The room smelled nice compared to the boy’s locker room, so he wasn’t complaining. It was easy to relax and just follow the instructions of the teacher, so he did.</p><p>He was still a little irritated because of the hot flashes, but it was calming. He was disappointed when they were dismissed to go change back into their normal clothes. Most of the girls were talking amicably with each other, some even bringing Yuri into their conversation on the way back to the locker rooms. He waved to them as he went into the boy’s room, feeling just slightly left out, but he brushed it off. He knew he was just overly sensitive because of his heat. He wondered if they could sense he was in heat. He hoped not...</p><p>The locker room stank of sweat and overpowering alpha musk, a huge contrast to himself. His natural scent was sweet and flowery, but luckily yoga wasn’t a very sweaty activity, so his scent suppressants were probably still effective. He reapplied his deodorant anyway before changing back into his sweatshirt.</p><p>He kept his back turned towards the room, already knowing he was being stared at. He could feel eyes on his back as he tied his hair up into a messy bun. People were already leaving, and he saw Otabek waiting for him by the door.</p><p>“Hey.” Yuri greeted, though he didn’t really feel like talking. At least Otabek was pretty easy to talk to. He wasn’t pushy like Mila or obnoxious like JJ, and he knew how to fill the silences Yuri couldn’t.</p><p>“Hey. How was yoga?” Otabek asked as they entered the hallway. There was still a couple minutes until school officially ended, so they took advantage of the fact that not many people were in the hallways yet and walked leisurely.</p><p>“It was good. I’m sort of tired now.” he answered. “How was weightlifting?”</p><p>“Uh, sweaty.” Otabek smiled. “I’m taking a shower the second I get home.”</p><p>“Same. I have work at five.” he complained.</p><p>“Where do you work?” Otabek asked, curiously.</p><p>“Uh. The Fareway on C street.” Yuri answered. “It’s the only place close enough to my house that I can bike there.”</p><p>“That sucks. What do you do in the winter?”</p><p>“Suffer.” he joked.</p><p>“Well… If you ever need a ride to work, just ask. Or school too I guess.” Otabek offered hesitantly. </p><p>“Oh. Y-You don’t have to do that… Thank you though.” Yuri smiled at his shoes. Otabek was so thoughtful… Offering to drive him to work, waiting for him so they can walk together… Ugh. Yuri really needed to get this crush under control!</p><p>When the bell rang, students began pouring out into the hallway. Yuri immediately latched onto the alpha’s sleeve so he wouldn’t be carried away in a wave of students. Otabek gave him a look Yuri could only describe as fond, and hesitantly grabbed Yuri’s hand instead.</p><p>Yuri’s face was probably tomato red. Otabek’s hand was bigger than his own, and his skin was rough and calloused. Yuri’s hands were small, soft skin and thin fingers. Would it be cheesy if Yuri thought their hands fit together perfectly? He already dreaded having to let go once they got through the crowd.</p><p>Otabek was fairly tall so he got through the horde easily, tugging Yuri along and leading the way. He was sort of jostled as nobody expected him to be behind Otabek, but they finally got out of the foyer. Yuri immediately missed it when Otabek dropped his hand, so he stuffed his hands into his sweatshirt. Otabek held the door for him when they got to the parking lot exit.</p><p>“Such a gentleman.” Yuri commented playfully as he stepped through.</p><p>“Oh of course.” Otabek grinned, leading him down the steps with a hand placed subtly on the small of his back. Maybe it was just the omega in him, but he loved how much attention he was receiving from the alpha. He couldn’t drop the small smile he had on his face as they approached Mila and JJ, who seemed to have just gotten there.</p><p>“Hey.” Yuri greeted, slowly. It looked like they were arguing, but they both immediately shut their mouths when they heard him.</p><p>“Hey.” Mila forced out, grinding her teeth. She was glaring at her feet with her arms crossed. JJ had a deep frown on his face. He leaned against the brick wall and let out an exasperated sigh.</p><p>Yuri could practically feel the tense energy coming off the two and he wasn’t surprised. He’d known Mila since middle school and JJ since the beginning of last school year. The two had a bit of a thing together, though Mila refused to admit it, which in turn made JJ upset that she wasn’t more serious about their… not-relationship. </p><p>They were always hot and cold with each other, especially given that the only reason the two knew each other was because JJ had asked Yuri out on a date the second week of freshman year. They dated about three months before Yuri realized he wasn’t interested in JJ that way. But, by then, JJ had already wormed his way into their friend group. It had been Yuri who broke up with him, and he always had a feeling JJ still liked him.</p><p>He knew Mila had a new crush every week and Yuri dutifully listened to her gush about all of them, as a best friend should. She was a hopeless romantic. She wanted to find her soulmate, and for a while, she thought it was JJ. But, she kept things casual because JJ was a pretty popular guy and he definitely wasn’t exclusive to her. Yuri knew she had doubts he would be able to restrain himself if they got together officially.</p><p>He sort of felt bad for her because he did catch the longer-than-strictly-friendly looks JJ gave him when he thought Yuri wasn’t watching. The two would never admit it, but Yuri knew he was one of the topics they often argued about. He hated it, but it was their not-relationship. It was just awkward sometimes. Like now.</p><p>“Um.” he started, apprehensively. “Are you guys… okay?”</p><p>“I’m fine.” JJ muttered.</p><p>“I am not the only one being unreasonable here!” Mila snapped. Yuri couldn’t help but flinch back as JJ took a menacing step toward her. He felt Otabek’s warm hand return to his lower back and felt somewhat reassured to have a calm alpha nearby amidst this fighting. He was perfectly okay with their usual banter and bickering, but this was personal and he knew when it was a bad idea to get between the two.</p><p>Honestly, he didn’t know how Mila stood up to him all the time. She wasn’t submissive or meek when it came to what she wanted. She was loud and rash, breaking all the expectations of her as an omega. He hated conflict, especially with alphas. Their biology was practically designed to please them, so it had taken Yuri about a week and a lot of pep talk from Mila to work up the courage to break up with JJ. Yuri was both weary and in awe of her ability to dish it out right back to him.</p><p>“You are being such a fucking hypocrite!” JJ accused, venomously. “You won’t call me your boyfriend but you get mad when I look at other people? That’s not fair!”</p><p>“Maybe I won’t call you my boyfriend because you look at other people! Have you thought about that!” she yelled back, practically murdering him with her eyes.</p><p>“You know I’m not a cheater. We’re not even exclusive! That’s not a fucking excuse!”</p><p>“How do I know that!? How do I know you won’t go off looking for some tail after I’ve committed to you? I don’t because you’ve always been a fuckboy!” </p><p>“You’ve never even given me a chance-!”</p><p>“I see you checking out my friends all the fucking time!” Mila interrupted, and Yuri shrunk back even further, lowering his head guiltily. Yuri knew she was referring to him. The only reason she hadn’t used his name was because he was standing right there. </p><p>But, it wasn’t like he could force JJ to stop crushing on him! He had assured Mila so many times that, even if JJ was attracted to him, Yuri would never betray her like that. It always hurt a little every time she ‘subtly’ used him as an argument with JJ. She knew he felt guilty about it, even if he couldn’t change it, and yet she still held it over his head…</p><p>Maybe it was just his heat that made her words feel like a punch in the guts.</p><p>He gulped and leaned further towards Otabek, who wrapped an arm around his waist in response, watching the two carefully. His eyes were narrowed and his scent was heavy, though that might just be because he was sweaty from gym. Whatever it was, Yuri found it comforting. The last thing he wanted was to be dragged into another one of his friend’s arguments, especially when they were being this intense.</p><p>“I have told you… so many fucking times… I’m over it!” JJ growled through clenched teeth.</p><p>“You don’t act like it!” </p><p>Yuri felt a tug on the back of his sweatshirt, and turned his head to see Yuuri and Viktor watching worriedly. Otabek’s head turned to quick Yuri thought he might give himself whiplash.</p><p>“What’s going on?” Yuuri asked quietly, releasing his shirt now that he had Yuri’s attention.</p><p>“They’re just… at it again.” Yuri sighed.</p><p>“Mm.” Viktor hummed as the arguing continued. First it was the commitment, then the arrogance, then the jealousy, and on. It seemed they never ran out of things to argue about. “Eh. Let’s go. You need a ride home, Yurio?”</p><p>“I can drive you home.” Otabek offered, hand still on his back.</p><p>“Um.” Yuri glanced back at the arguing not-couple. “Yeah… Thanks.”</p><p>“Of course.” Otabek assured.</p><p>“Alrighty. I’ll see you guys on Monday. Hopefully they’ll have their shit sorted out.” Viktor grimaced. They said their goodbyes and Otabek lead Yuri to his car.</p><p>“Woah.” Otabek laughed when they were far enough away. “Those two went from zero to 100 so quick.”</p><p>“Yeah…” Yuri groaned. “They can be a bit much sometimes. I was dreading having to ride home with them.”</p><p>“That would’ve been one tense car ride.” Otabek agreed. Ayana waved as they approached, Yuri smiled tiredly at her. She was only a little younger than himself and she was really nice. In some ways, she was just like her brother. Reserved and kind, but not afraid to tell you what she thought about something. He admired that in both of them.</p><p>Otabek put in an Imagine Dragons CD and Yuri gave him directions to his house. Otabek’s car smelled like him and Yuri was silently thanking God that he had the privilege of sitting in it. With suppressants, scents were usually muted or diluted, but in his car Yuri could smell him clearly. Otabek’s scent was heavy like the smell of coffee beans, and he couldn’t deny it was calming him down. </p><p>He relaxed a little and allowed his head to lean on the seat belt. He realized after a few minutes he was subconsciously baring his neck. If it were anyone else, he would’ve -without a doubt- repositioned himself and maybe even gone as far as to pull his sweatshirt up to cover his neck, but… This was Otabek, and while he’d only known him for a couple days, he already felt so familiar. </p><p>Maybe it was his heat or just that he was insanely infatuated with the alpha, but he closed his eyes with his neck exposed and a little sleepy sigh. He thought about different excuses for Otabek to drive him around more often until he got home.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. September</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was three weeks into school when Otabek was invited to a group movie night. It was on a Saturday, and by then he’d landed a job at a hardware store, so he showered and got ready the second he got home from work. Ayana had dance lessons so she couldn’t go. Otabek thought even if she could, she would probably decline. She’d only sat with the group a couple times before she found her own friends. The most she saw of them anymore was when he offered to drive Yuri home.</p><p>He’d thrown on a plain white tee shirt and some gray joggers, knowing that it hung off his -fairly- muscular figure nicely, not that he was dressing to impress or anything… He made sure he had his wallet, phone, and keys, and was out the door by 6pm. He didn’t bother bringing a spare change of clothes, he’d dressed comfortably.</p><p>He wasn’t nervous, really. He had gotten a little closer to Viktor since they met and realized he’s really fun to be around. Sometimes he could be a little obnoxious or over-protective of his Yuuri, but other than that, they got along amazingly. </p><p>He’d realized through hanging out with the group that Viktor and Yuri were very close. Initially, he’d disliked that, but now he saw that it was brotherly. Viktor was incredibly loyal to his Yuuri, that was obvious just by seeing the two together.</p><p>He’d learned not to expect anything from Mila and JJ, as they were very… unpredictable. Sometimes they were all over each other, sometimes they were flat out pretending the other didn’t exist, sometimes they goofed around like best friends, and sometimes they were at each other’s throats. Everyone seemed to be used to this, so Otabek got used to it too.</p><p>Yuri and Mila were best friends, though Otabek noticed a bit of a strain on their friendship whenever she was fighting with JJ. He hoped Yuri didn’t feel too excluded by it, but he recognized the look of guilt and resignation on Yuri’s face whenever he saw them arguing.</p><p>Otabek quickly decided he really didn’t like JJ much. He was okay most of the time, but the image of him getting so angry at Mila, making Yuri feel guilty and responsible for it, and the way he sometimes gave these sleazy looks to Yuri while supposedly being in love with Mila… It sort of pissed Otabek off, if he was being honest.</p><p>Maybe part of him disliked JJ because he dated Yuri for three months, but he knew if it was anyone else he could get over that. JJ was just so obnoxious and flat out inconsiderate sometimes… His redeemable qualities didn’t really make up for it, in Otabek’s humble opinion. He couldn’t see what Mila saw in him.</p><p>So he made sure to be there for Yuri. He gave the omega rides home occasionally, listening to him complain and vent and talk about things he knew Yuri wouldn’t dare to say in front of his ‘best friend.’ At first, Yuri had been shy to talk about the nature of Mila and JJ’s relationship, but after Otabek shared his own thoughts, Yuri opened up to him.</p><p>The whole interaction had ended with ice cream from Parlor City and a long, tight hug over the center console in Otabek’s car. They had scented each other, but Otabek was strangely okay with that. Usually, that was a very intimate thing, but with Yuri it just felt natural. Yuri seemed to have felt the same way. He had a feeling Yuri was more interested in emotional intimacy than physical, anyway. He’d listened to Yuri’s little breaths by his ear, felt Yuri’s soft hair against his face, and smelled Yuri’s sweet scent that was beginning to feel extremely familiar to the alpha. </p><p>As he pulled into Viktor’s driveway, he couldn’t help but hope Yuri felt something for him too.</p><p>There was only one other car here and Otabek recognized it as Viktor’s shiny, white Malibu, so he guessed there would be no parental interruptions. He got out after making sure to park with enough room for at least two more cars, and knocked on the front door. It was a pretty nice looking house. There were two stories and the lawn was landscaped perfectly.</p><p>The door flew open to reveal Yuuri. He was in a tee shirt and basketball shorts. “Hey man!” he greeted, standing aside and letting him in. The door opened right into the living room, and he was pleased to note Yuri was already here. </p><p>He was laying on his back with his ankles crossed on the expensive leather couch, his head turned and watching what looked like a ghost-hunting show. His hair was splayed against the armrest of the couch, messy yet incredibly soft looking. There was a fluffy brown-gray poodle Otabek recognized as Viktor’s dog, Makkachin, sitting on the floor beside his head and Yuri was stroking its fur lazily. </p><p>He was more pleased to note Yuri was wearing a tiny gray tee shirt -that still managed to be a little baggy on him- and cheetah-print booty shorts that stopped right where his thighs began. His shirt was riding up, revealing a little stripe of skin above the hem of his shorts.</p><p>“Hey.” Otabek stepped further into the room.</p><p>Yuri turned at the sound of his voice and quickly sat up, making space on the couch for him. He smiled in lieu of a greeting and continued watching the TV.</p><p>“Where’s Viktor?” Otabek asked, trying not to notice how smooth and elegant Yuri’s legs looked. He sat down on the opposite end of the couch, his ass practically melting into the cushion.</p><p>“He’s in the other room talking to his dad.” Yuuri explained, taking a seat on the recliner. “His parents are in New York this week.”</p><p>“They’re in New York like every week.” Yuri commented, glancing between Otabek and the screen.</p><p>“His parents travel a lot?” he inferred.</p><p>“Viktor’s dad is a lawyer and his mom has some distant family in New York. Usually she works from home.” Yuuri answered. “They’re both super nice.”</p><p>“I’m sure.” Otabek said, leaning back into the couch. He’d briefly met Viktor’s mom a week ago, but she had been in a rush and everyone was talking over each other, so he didn’t bother to say anything. He’d rather stay quiet than have to yell to be heard.</p><p>“I’m gonna go see what’s taking Viktor so long.” Yuuri said and walked out of the room, smiling politely as always.</p><p>“What is this?” Otabek asked after a moment. Yuri had his legs folded under his thighs and was leaning against the arm rest, relaxed. Otabek was glad Yuri wasn’t tense just because they were alone. A couple weeks ago, he would’ve been, but they spent time alone together sometimes now. From in class to driving Yuri home to even just walking together in the hallways at school. It wasn’t awkward anymore.</p><p>“It’s a show on Youtube called Buzzfeed Unsolved.” Yuri said. “They go to supposedly haunted places and see if they can pick up any paranormal activity.”</p><p>“You believe in ghosts?” Otabek asked, curiously. There was no sarcasm or hostility in his tone, but Yuri still looked a little embarrassed.</p><p>“I mean… I know they’re probably not real but it’s a cool thought?” he offered. “We can watch something else-” Yuri was right about to disconnect his phone from the TV.</p><p>“No, no. That’s alright. Let’s watch this.” Otabek reassured. </p><p>“Are you sure? I know not everyone likes paranormal stuff.” Yuri mumbled.</p><p>“Yeah. This is interesting.” Otabek said. “I don’t think ghosts are real but, like you said, it’s a cool thought.”</p><p>Yuri bit his lip and smiled, “Okay. If you’re sure.”</p><p>“Mhm.” Otabek hummed, smiling amusedly. They watched for about 15 minutes before Viktor and Yuuri joined them. The couple cuddled up together on the recliner and they hung out until JJ and Mila arrived.</p><p>Otabek automatically scooted to the middle cushion to make room for them, and ended up sort of squished between Yuri and Mila. Yuri’s whole body was tense because he was practically in Otabek’s lap. His left leg was resting slightly on Otabek’s right thigh and Otabek wrapped an arm around the back of the couch because their shoulders were being crushed. </p><p>The group debated on what movie to start with for about 20 minutes while Viktor got popcorn made and brought out cans of pop. Yuuri helped him because he ‘basically lived here anyway’ according to Viktor. Otabek thought they were probably just snogging in the kitchen.</p><p>Eventually they settled on watching Nerve. It took about a half an hour into the movie for Yuri to relax. He rested his head against Otabek’s shoulder and let his legs lay across Otabek’s lap. Otabek liked the way Yuri’s body fit against his. Yuri was small, smooth, and soft. Otabek could feel the heat of his body and could smell his scent clearly from this close. He was positive Yuri could smell him too. </p><p>About an hour into the movie, Otabek started tracing his fingers along Yuri’s thigh, so light the touch was barely there. It was an innocent gesture, he supposed, but he just wanted to touch Yuri. To feel his skin and his warmth. Yuri let out a soft breath and a little shiver at the feeling, and his body rested heavier on Otabek. He was relaxing further.</p><p>Otabek took a bit of pride in that. He wanted Yuri to trust him. To feel safe around him. To be completely at ease whenever he was near. He wanted him to be happy and content. And he wanted to be the reason why. He wanted to be the one to take care of Yuri.</p><p>Yuri hummed along to the songs in the movie he recognized and Otabek smiled freely at it because Yuri couldn’t see his face. At some point, Yuri wrapped an arm around Otabek’s stomach, and Otabek’s arm dropped from the top of the couch down to Yuri’s shoulders. </p><p>He wanted to stay like this forever. Curled up with Yuri on his lap surrounded by friends. Yuri’s legs were soft as he slowly rubbed circles into his skin with his thumb. His skin was hairless for the most part, and the little hair he did have was soft and blonde. He was a perfect weight on top of Otabek, like those weighted blankets for reducing anxiety. His scent was familiar and strong, this close to Yuri’s neck. It took all of Otabek’s self control not to lean down and scent him.</p><p>After Nerve was over, they decided to watch a horror movie called The Ritual. Otabek didn’t think it was very scary, and neither did anyone else. The story was alright, which made up for its lack of scariness. Otabek was just enjoying the cuddling while he could.</p><p>It was 10:30pm by the time the end credits played. “It was okay.” Mila commented.</p><p>“It wasn’t even scary!” JJ complained.</p><p>“Let’s watch Annabel then.” Viktor joked.</p><p>“Um how about we don’t do that.” Mila replied. “Honestly, I was more on edge because I kept expecting a jump scare that never came…”</p><p>“Who wants ice cream?” Yuuri suddenly asked. “Cause I want ice cream.”</p><p>“Oooh.” Yuri cooed. </p><p>“That sounds good.” JJ sighed. “But I don’t wanna get up…”</p><p>“There’s a Dairy Queen like 5 blocks away.” Mila said, poking his side.</p><p>“Ughhh….” JJ groaned, burying his face in Mila’s arm, making her laugh.</p><p>“I can go.” Otabek volunteered, just because he hated indecision. The others cheered, and then started debating about which ice cream flavor is best.</p><p>“You want me to go with you?” Yuri asked sweetly, peering up at him through his eyelashes.</p><p>“Mm, yeah.” he bit his lip and squeezed his thigh. JJ frowned and Otabek raised an eyebrow at him, feeling a wave of irritation. He made sure not to let it show in his tone when he spoke to Yuri..“You’re gonna have to get up though.”</p><p>Yuri let his head drop back down to Otabek’s chest and whined. Otabek chuckled, “What, do you want me to carry you out to the car?”</p><p>“...Maybe…” Yuri breathed, so quiet Otabek barely heard him. “You’re just comfortable.”</p><p>“You’re just cute.” Otabek murmured into his hair, laughing quietly when Yuri whined again and buried his face in Otabek’s chest. </p><p>Then, he carefully pulled Yuri fully into his lap and sat up, getting his arms behind Yuri’s back and under his knees.</p><p> “Up we go.” he grunted. As Otabek stood, Yuri wrapped his arms around Otabek’s neck tight, letting out a little gasp as his body was completely supported by Otabek. He was extremely light in his arms. He gave his sister piggy back rides all the time, so he could easily lift him. He was pointedly ignoring JJ’s poorly disguised glare.</p><p>Viktor, Yuuri, and Mila laughed along as he set Yuri on his feet, and Yuri grabbed his shoulders to steady himself. “Well. You didn’t exactly carry me to the car.” Yuri sassed.</p><p>“I thought you might wanna get your shoes on.” Otabek smiled, slipping his own tennis shoes on. Yuri blushed and did the same. “You guys should text me what you all want from DQ so I get your orders right.”</p><p>“Alright. I’ll text you.” Viktor said, pulling out his phone.</p><p>“Okay. Hurry cause DQ isn’t very far away.” Otabek reminded them as they went out the door.</p><p>Driving with Yuri was nice. They didn’t feel the need to fill the silence. It was comfortable and almost relaxing. He let Yuri choose the music, and he chose a Linkin Park CD. The volume was pretty low, and Otabek got the feeling Yuri preferred it that way.</p><p>Yuri turned the volume down even more when it was their turn to order. Otabek got a cookie dough shake, and Yuri got a cake batter ice cream shake. Fitting, Otabek thought, sweet just like his scent.</p><p>Yuri tried to help pay, but Otabek wouldn’t let him. He pouted for a few minutes while they were waiting, but went back to his bubbly self when he got his ice cream. He said a shy thank you as he took his first bite, and Otabek smiled fondly at him as he pulled out of the parking lot. Yuri balanced the cardboard cup holder full of everyone else’s ice cream on his lap on the drive back.</p><p>Everyone cheered when they got back, eagerly taking their ice cream from the carrier. Viktor and Yuuri had brought out blankets and pillows, and the TV was playing an episode of The Office. Otabek sat down beside Mila, and Yuri squeezed in between him and the armrest, throwing his legs over Otabek’s lap with only a flustered smile.</p><p>“Thank you Otabek!” Viktor said loudly as he ate, prompting everyone else to do the same. Yuri squeezed his bicep and smiled before everyone returned their attention to the TV. When they were done with ice cream, Yuuri took everyone’s trash into the kitchen and they settled in for another movie.</p><p>Otabek didn’t catch the name of it, but he wasn’t really paying attention anyway. Yuri had shifted fully in his lap, feet resting between Otabek and Mlia’s legs. His head was laying on Otabek’s shoulder, so close to his neck. Otabek’s arms were wrapped around Yuri’s small waist, and Yuri’s hands were fisted in his shirt. He was pretty sure Yuri fell asleep halfway through the movie, so he was free to stare at him all he wanted.</p><p>Not to be creepy, but Yuri was pretty. When he was asleep, his face was slack, there was no tension in his muscles. His lips were parted slightly and Otabek could feel his soft breaths against his neck. </p><p>Otabek relished in the fact that Yuri had let his guard down for him. He trusted him enough to fall asleep in his arms. His scent told Otabek he was content and the alpha inside him was delighted to have pleased his omega.</p><p>This omega. Not his. Not yet.</p><p>It was about 4am when Otabek noticed the purring. At first, he thought Yuri was just snoring, but after a couple minutes of listening to it, he was positive. It was quiet, a low sound from the back of Yuri’s throat. Otabek ran his warm hand up and down Yuri’s thigh, under the blanket, and Yuri actually started purring louder! Otabek was extremely satisfied with this, and he fell asleep wishing they could just lay like this forever.</p><p>~~~</p><p>In the morning, Otabek woke up hearing hushed voices and the sound of cartoons playing on the TV. Yuri was still laying on him, and he tightened his arms around the omega with a sleepy groan, burying his face in Yuri’s hair to block out the light.</p><p>Yuri let out a little breathy giggle and nuzzled into his chest further. “Good morning.”</p><p>“Mmm.” Otabek hummed. “What time is it?”</p><p>“Like 8.” Yuri breathed. Otabek groaned as he was reminded he had work at 11. He didn’t want to get up. “Viktor’s making breakfast.”</p><p>“What’s he making?”</p><p>“Banana pancakes. The way he makes them is so good. You’ll like them.” Yuri said confidently.</p><p>“Mmh.” he hummed. He raised his head and saw that the lights were off, casting the room in gray, natural light through the curtains. Mila had migrated to the floor. She was sitting in a blanket burrito, lazily scrolling through Instagram on her phone. JJ was doing the same on the couch. Yuuri was blearily watching cartoons. </p><p>JJ looked up from his phone and gave Otabek a frustrated scowl, meeting his eyes for only a second before shaking his head and looking back at his phone.</p><p>“How long have you been up?” Otabek asked Yuri.</p><p>“Mm. I dunno. Half hour maybe.” Yuri mumbled. Otabek hummed and they watched cartoons until Viktor called everyone to breakfast. He hated to let go of Yuri, but he supposed they had no excuse to keep touching. Breakfast was delicious, and Otabek was a little surprised because Viktor never struck him as much of a chef. They all ate at Viktor’s dining room table, which could have easily seated at least 10 people.</p><p>Otabek had to go at 9, and he felt a little bad to eat and run, but he had work. He noticed, as he was putting his shoes on, that Yuri looked the slightest bit sad, and he hated to leave Yuri looking so down.</p><p>“Do you want me to drive you home, Yuri?” he offered, stifling a smile when Yuri’s face lit up.</p><p>“Oh. Y-You don’t have to… Are you sure?” Yuri smiled shyly, averting his eyes and fiddling with his hands.</p><p>“Of course.” Otabek said. “Make sure to grab all your stuff.” Yuri shot him a soft smile that made his heart skip a beat as he went into Viktor’s room to grab his overnight bag. He may or may not have stared at Yuri’s little bubble butt in those animal print booty shorts until he disappeared in the hallway.</p><p>JJ scoffed from behind him, having caught him checking Yuri out. “What? Otabek asked, narrowing his eyes. JJ definitely had no room for judgement with all the sleazy looks he gave to Yuri.</p><p>“Nothing.” JJ grimaced, tapping his foot as if he was just itching to say something.</p><p>Otabek raised an eyebrow at him, “Alright?” A little bit of him, a petty part of him, wanted to instigate a little… He wanted to make JJ start something. To just get it over with. There had been tension between them since the first week of school, as soon as JJ realized Otabek was interested in Yuri. “How long are you staying?”</p><p>“However long Mila wants to stay.” he grunted, and sat down on the arm of the couch. There was a hint of bitterness in his tone and Otabek wondered, not for the first time, if he truly loved her, like he claimed. </p><p>He hummed in response and leaned against the front door. He didn’t have much to say to JJ. It was hard to restrain himself sometimes, from getting nasty with the other alpha. He hated the way JJ would act high and mighty because he’d been friends with the group longer than Otabek. They didn’t really get along, but Otabek was able to be civil, if not a little passive aggressive, most of the time. </p><p>Otabek stood up straight when Yuri emerged from the hallway, carrying a little, black backpack on his back. “You ready?” Otabek asked, biting his lip at how cute Yuri looked in his little shorts and little bag. He had a feeling if he told Yuri that, the omega would think he was being insulted, so he kept his mouth shut.</p><p>“Yeah.” Yuri smiled, and bent down to slip on his shoes. “Viktor! Beka and I are going!” he yelled to the other room. Otabek still smiled every time Yuri called him that, not that Yuri knew it was a family thing. Maybe he’d tell him one day.</p><p>“Bye!!” Viktor screamed back, followed by Yuuri and Mila shouting their goodbyes too.</p><p>“Bye.” JJ grimaced as Otabek held the door open for Yuri. He, possessively, held a hand to Yuri’s lower back as they went out, raising a hand to JJ and shutting the door behind them. </p><p>“Can I choose the music?” Yuri asked excitedly after they got in his car.</p><p>“Nope.” Otabek said as he pulled out of Viktor’s driveway.</p><p>“Pleeeeeeeeeeeease.” Yuri whined, leaning over the center console and poking his arm over and over.</p><p>“Hmm. No.” Otabek smirked. “Let’s drive in complete silence.” Yuri gaped at him for a moment, before Otabek started laughing. </p><p>“You’re an asshole!” Yuri slapped his arm, but he was laughing too. He looked through his CDs and eventually chose an Imagine Dragons CD, the same one Otabek had played the first time Yuri was in his car.</p><p>Yuri took a deep breath as he relaxed into the seat. Otabek couldn’t help feeling satisfied that Yuri was so at ease in his presence. It was a quiet drive, and he wished he’d taken the longer route when they arrived at Yuri’s house. It was a normal farmhouse, and Otabek couldn’t really tell how much of the surrounding land belonged to Yuri’s grandfather.</p><p>He’d been there a few times, but never inside. He hoped one day Yuri would invite him inside, but he wouldn’t push. He was dreading going to work as he pulled out of Yuri’s long, gravel driveway on his way home.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. IV</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The group was at Mila’s house when Yuri got a phone call.  They were playing Mario Kart and so far, Yuuri was winning. Otabek was sitting on the floor with his back leaning against the couch, and Yuri had been above him, stroking fingers through Otabek’s short hair when it wasn’t his turn to play. Mila’s mom was in the other room, working from home, so they tried (and failed) to be quiet for her sake.</p><p>Yuri’s phone went off, and his ringtone was Sail. Otabek didn’t really know much about Yuri’s music taste, other than that he seemed to like Linkin Park and Imagine Dragons, but he added Awolnation to the list. Yuri accepted the call and stepped out onto the porch.</p><p>Otabek hadn’t thought anything of it, but after he came back in, he was… different. Quieter. His scent was stressed and maybe even a little scared. Uneasy. He took his place behind Otabek on the couch, pulling his legs up onto the cushion with him. Everyone noticed something was off with him, but whenever someone tried to ask if he was okay, he said he was fine and went quiet again, getting increasingly more annoyed every time.</p><p>Otabek insisted he drive Yuri home, and maybe the only reason Yuri agreed was because he thought he was more likely to be hounded about why he was upset in a car with Viktor and Yuuri. </p><p>It was almost 10pm when they finally all left. It was a Tuesday, so he had to be back home by midnight, but he knew if he was honest with his parents about how a friend was sort of going through something, they’d be lenient.</p><p>Yuri all but collapsed into the passenger’s seat, barely getting his legs in before the door swung shut behind him by gravity. Otabek started the car, but waited for Viktor and JJ to pull out of the driveway first. Yuri took a deep breath and leaned back in the chair, letting his shoulders slump and his arms go limp at his sides.</p><p>“Yura.” Otabek murmured. Yuri hummed. “I know something’s wrong. Your scent is so sour right now. Please tell me?”</p><p>Yuri sighed, and glanced at him. He opened his mouth and closed it a few times, as if he was trying to find the right words to say. “I don’t know. I’m probably overreacting.”</p><p>“About what?” Otabek prompted gently as he finally pulled out into the street.</p><p>“I… It’s nothing, I don’t wanna talk about it.” he muttered.</p><p>“Yuri…” Otabek frowned, now even more worried.</p><p>He sighed, and neither of them spoke for a couple minutes. Yuri stared out the window as he drove to the nearest gas station. Yuri didn’t even ask why they were there when he pulled into a parking space near the back of the lot. It was dark out and the only light came from the glowing dashboard and the yellowy lamps high above them lining the parking lot.</p><p>“Yuri,” he started, unbuckling his seatbelt and turning to face him. “I know I’ve only known you for a couple months. But I already care so much about you.” Yuri’s gaze softened and he looked doubtfully at Otabek. “I just want you to be happy. I want to make you happy. But I can’t help if I don’t know what’s wrong. Please…”</p><p>Yuri frowned and looked down at his shoes, fiddling with his hands in his lap. It took a minute, but he spoke up quietly, “I… My grandpa just had heart surgery and I got a call from the hospital saying he wasn’t responding very well and… they’re just keeping him for a while, I guess.”</p><p>“Oh.” Otabek murmured, reaching out and taking his hand. He was relieved when Yuri didn’t pull his hand back, like Otabek thought he might. He knew Yuri loved his grandpa dearly. He also knew Yuri’s grandpa didn’t have a phone, which probably made Yuri even more anxious because he couldn’t just call him. “I’m sorry. Did they say anything else?”</p><p>“No. They said they’re keeping him for another few days to see if he’ll get any better. So he might fucking… die, and I won’t know until I get the call.” Yuri’s voice was getting more and more shaky, his eyes glassy.</p><p>“Yura…” he whispered, leaning over the center console and pulling the omega into an embrace. </p><p>Yuri went easily, curling into Otabek as he let out a little sniffle into his shirt. Otabek rubbed his back and carded his fingers through Yuri’s hair. He didn’t know what else he could do but hold him. </p><p>“It’s okay. It’ll be okay.” he cooed. He wished desperately that the center console wasn’t separating them because all he wanted to do was pull Yuri into his lap and cuddle him until he felt better.</p><p>“I don’t know what I’d do… if he…” Yuri breathed, his breath warm and wet against Otabek’s neck. The omega was shamelessly nuzzling into his neck and he couldn’t say he minded.</p><p>“It’s gonna be okay…” Otabek insisted, not really knowing what else to say. He had never been great at comforting people, but this was Yuri. He’d only known the boy for less than two months but he would try his hardest to be there for him.</p><p>Otabek wasn’t keeping track of how long they sat there, clinging to each other. Yuri was all cried out and just leaning against him when he finally looked up at the clock.</p><p>“Hey…” he murmured, pulling back just a little bit. Yuri’s eyes were red-rimmed, dried tear tracks still on his cheeks. He looked tired, exhausted really. Otabek brought a hand to hold his face and brushed his cheek with his thumb gently. “It’s getting late. We should get you home.”</p><p>Yuri frowned and let out a little whine. Otabek would’ve found it cute if he wasn’t so worried about him. Yuri took a shaky deep breath and pulled back. He just sat there breathing for a minute, before slowly buckling his seat belt.</p><p>“You gonna be okay?” Otabek asked, dumbly. Of course he wouldn’t, but he knew they’d both be drop dead tired at school the next morning if they stayed out too long.</p><p>“...It’s just gonna be me tonight.” Yuri murmured, staring sadly at his shoes. “Grandpa’s at the hospital so… I’ll be by myself.”</p><p>“Yura…” Otabek frowned. “Do you… want me to stay over?”</p><p>Yuri looked up at him, hopefully. “Really?” he breathed.</p><p>“Of course.” he said seriously. “We can just swing by my house tomorrow morning to pick up my sister and grab my backpack. If you want me to.”</p><p>Yuri gave him a sad smile, biting his lip and nodding. “That’d be really nice.” he whispered, eyes still glassy.</p><p>“Maybe I could drive you to go see him tomorrow?” Otabek offered. “If you want.”</p><p>Yuri looked up at him and tears leaked from his eyes as he smiled. “That’s so… sweet. Thank you.”</p><p>“Of course.” Otabek murmured. He leaned over and kissed the top of Yuri’s head, and the blonde let out a little gasp. “You ready to go?”</p><p>“Y-Yeah.” he breathed.</p><p>The ride to Yuri’s house was quiet. There was no music playing, but it didn’t bother Otabek. He was brushing his thumb over Yuri’s knuckles with one hand, the other on the steering wheel. It was only 10:45 by the time they got there, and he reluctantly let go of Yuri’s hand when they got out of the car.</p><p>He followed Yuri up to his front door, and there was a passcode lock. He respectfully averted his eyes as Yuri put in the code and opened the door. Inside his house was pretty nice, old but well maintained. There were antiques and books all over the place. He could see the dining room was orderly with elegant flowers in the center of the table. </p><p>“So this is my house.” Yuri said, turning to face him as he closed the door behind them. “Um. We can sleep wherever. My room or the living room.” Yuri started taking off his shoes, so Otabek did the same, making sure to line them up on the little mat behind the door he hadn’t initially noticed just as Yuri did.</p><p>“I’m okay with either.” Otabek assured as Yuri lead him into the kitchen.</p><p>“Would it be okay to sleep up in my room then?” Yuri asked, tiredly.</p><p>“Of course. Whatever’s more comfortable.” he said. Yuri nodded and continued leading him up a set of stairs to his bedroom. The first thing he noticed was the scent. It was sweet and soothing just like Yuri himself, only stronger. Otabek couldn’t help taking in a deep breath. </p><p>Yuri’s double bed was pushed into the corner of the room. He had no headboard, and a huge fluffy white comforter. There were many pillows on it lining the two walls with animal print pillowcases and even a stuffed tiger plushie. His dresser was white, and had his overnight bag hanging on one of the knobs. The top was covered in books and papers. His drawings, probably. </p><p>A desk was in front of a window beside the dresser with a nice laptop sitting on top, and even more papers. The walls were covered with a few posters like The Walking Dead and The Last Of Us, even an Avatar The Last Airbender poster. It was a pretty small room, but it was definitely Yuri.</p><p>“You know, your grandpa’s gonna smell me all over your bed when he gets back.” Otabek commented as he sat down on the edge of Yuri’s bed. There was a little bit of satisfaction that came with that thought. He imagined Yuri’s grandpa’s reaction when he realized an alpha had been in his grandson’s bed.</p><p>This made Yuri pause to consider that for a moment. “Hmm. I don’t care. I don’t want to be alone tonight.” he decided.</p><p>“Rebellious, Yura.” Otabek chuckled.</p><p>“I would rather ask for forgiveness than permission.” he shrugged sheepishly, and fished some clothes out of his dresser. “I don’t have anything that would fit you… Maybe my grandpa’s clothes but I dunno if he’d want another alpha wearing his clothes…”</p><p>“That’s okay.” Otabek smiled at how Yuri was willing to have him stay the night without permission but not loan out his grandpa’s clothes. “I’m in a tee shirt and joggers, I’m pretty much already in pajamas.”</p><p>“Okay. I’m gonna go change and feed Potya. She’s probably starving by now...” Yuri frowned. “Usually my grandpa feeds her at night.” </p><p>Otabek hummed and the blonde stepped out of the room. Otabek laid back against the fluffy blanket, using this time to text his mom that he was spending the night at a friend’s house. He thought about looking through Yuri’s many sketchbooks lying around the room, but decided against it. It was probably personal. He would be intruding if he snooped around. He wanted Yuri to show him his art himself.</p><p>Yuri came back a couple minutes later, hair down, wearing a little gray tee shirt and black booty shorts. He threw his dirty clothes into a hamper by the dresser and laid down beside Otabek with a heavy sigh. Otabek turned his head and saw Yuri’s eyes closed, a calm (exhausted?) expression on his face.</p><p>“Let’s go to bed.” Otabek suggested. Yuri hummed and they both got under the covers, Otabek between Yuri and the wall. Otabek was glad he was on suppressants because he knew he would have definitely gone into rut if he wasn’t, surrounded by Yuri’s scent, in Yuri’s bed, alone with him.</p><p>Yuri turned off the lamp beside the bed and the blanket rustled as they were plunged into darkness. Otabek laid on his back, and he could see the outline of Yuri’s small form under the blanket beside him. </p><p>They were quiet for a few minutes, Otabek simply blinking into the darkness. It was hard not to be calm with Yuri’s scent all over him. It was soothing and relaxing, lulling him to sleep. He felt his muscles relax and felt like he was sinking into the mattress. </p><p>“Beka?” Yuri asked timidly, after a few minutes.</p><p>“Yeah?” he replied, voice deep and gruff from almost-sleep.</p><p>“Can… um. Can you hold me?” Yuri whispered, so quiet Otabek could barely hear him.</p><p>“Come here, Yura.” Otabek murmured, and after a moment of hesitation, Yuri scooted closer to him. He guided Yuri’s head to rest on his arm, and wrapped his other arm around Yuri’s small waist, holding him tight to his chest. Yuri hummed and nuzzled into his chest, fisting his small hands in Otabek’s shirt.</p><p>“...Thank you.” Yuri mumbled. “F-For being here for me…”</p><p>“Of course.” Otabek whispered into his hair, rubbing circles into Yuri’s hip with his thumb where his shirt rode up. He bit his lip and hesitated before speaking again. “Yuri, why didn’t you want to tell anyone else about your grandpa?”</p><p>Yuri sighed, “They would’ve made a big deal out of it. Honestly, I just wanted to go home after I got that call… They would’ve insisted we go somewhere fun to distract me from it but… I didn’t want to be distracted or cheered up…”</p><p>“...But you told me?” he prompted gently.</p><p>“I… Yeah… You’re different. I… I knew if I told them, they wouldn’t leave me alone about it… It’s just easier to talk to you. You make me feel… s-safer? I don’t know. That sounds stupid, sorry…”</p><p>“That’s not stupid.” Otabek smiled, squeezing his arms around the omega, who did the same. “You are safe with me. I'll take care of you…”</p><p>Yuri whined in embarrassment and nuzzled his face into Otabek’s chest. He spoke up again after a moment. “...If my grandpa died… I don’t know what would happen to me.”</p><p>“What do you mean?” Otabek asked, confused. </p><p>“Well… um… My mom wasn’t very good to me while she had me, and she’s dead now anyway... Maybe Mr. Feltsman would take me in but… I’d probably be put into foster care again.” Yuri explained, softly. Otabek blinked into the darkness. Yuri’s mom was abusive? And apparently dead. He wondered how she died. How old Yuri was when she died. How Yuri felt about her.</p><p>“You were in foster care?” he murmured. Until now, Otabek had been under the impression that Yuri had always lived with his grandpa. He’d wondered what happened to his parents, but never found a good time to ask. He didn’t even know if it was his place to ask.</p><p>“Yeah… After my mom died, it took a couple years to be put with my grandpa. He didn’t even know I existed until Social Services found him.”</p><p>“How old were you?”</p><p>“Uh. Like, almost eleven.” Yuri sighed. “I really… really don’t want to go back. Things are so good right now. I’d have to move and switch schools and I’d lose all of you-” His voice was getting watery and his breathing uneven the longer he spoke.</p><p>“Hey, it’s okay. It’s gonna be okay. Your grandpa is going to get better, Yura. He will.” Otabek insisted, holding him tighter.</p><p>“Tell me about your family?” Yuri suggested quietly, letting his head rest on Otabek’s bicep heavier.</p><p>“My mom’s name is Min, and my dad’s name is Kairat. My mom’s Korean, and my dad is Kazakh. My dad is a mechanic, and my mom is an accountant.” he began, speaking quietly into Yuri’s hair. “You know my sister already. I have a huge extended family in Kazakhstan and Chicago, but I think it would be useless to try to explain everyone. There’s too many of them.”</p><p>Yuri hummed, “My grandpa’s name is Nikolai. I’m Russian, if you couldn’t tell by my last name.”</p><p>“Really? I had no idea.” Otabek feigned confusion, making Yuri softly punch his chest.</p><p>Yuri let out a sigh and Otabek pulled him impossibly closer. “...Goodnight.”</p><p>“Goodnight.” he murmured. He didn't fall asleep until he heard Yuri beginning to purr in his arms, and then he slept like a brick.</p><p>~~~</p><p>The ride to school the next morning was surprisingly easy. He expected his sister to tease him relentlessly for coming home with an omega’s scent all over him, but he thought she was probably caught off guard by said omega coming home with him.</p><p>Yuri had waited in the car while he quickly changed and grabbed his bag. He told Ayana to be civil right before they got in, shooting her a look that said he was serious.</p><p>But, he wasn’t worried about his sister so much as their friends. As they walked into the foyer, Ayana disappeared into the crowd, and Yuri grabbed his hand so they wouldn’t be separated. </p><p>“Beka…” Yuri tugged his hand, frowning. </p><p>Yuri had an embarrassed expression on his face, and he was hunching his shoulders. His scent was slightly sour with insecurity. It was hard to differentiate his scent from everyone else in the foyer, but he’d become very familiar with it lately. He stopped and leaned down to hear him better.</p><p>“They’re gonna think we… slept together…” Yuri muttered, his face getting redder at the thought. While Yuri had showered that morning, Otabek didn’t; he just changed his clothes and reapplied deodorant. Yuri’s scent was still all over him.</p><p>Otabek understood why he was so worried. While it was considered okay for an alpha or beta to have unmated sex… it was still sort of frowned upon for an omega to have sex outside a relationship, even when on suppressants and birth control. It was the sort of thing that could ruin a reputation.</p><p>“They’ll just have to believe us when we say we didn’t.” Otabek said, rubbing his thumb over Yuri’s knuckles and trying to make his scent soothing. He felt Yuri squeeze his hand, and he squeezed back. “Maybe we shouldn’t hold hands when they see us though. Not sure that would help our case.” he added, making Yuri laugh a little.</p><p>“I don’t want them to get upset or anything…” Yuri frowned, looking down at his shoes guiltily.</p><p>“I’ll be right there with you.” Otabek promised, squeezing his hand and brushing his hair out of his face to get the omega to look at him. “It’ll be okay, Yura.”</p><p>“...Okay.” Yuri breathed, but Otabek could tell he wasn’t convinced.</p><p>When they approached the group, Yuri dropped his hand and crossed his arms, though he subconsciously leaned towards Otabek. Otabek stood casually, naturally gravitating towards the omega as well.</p><p>JJ glared at Otabek incredulously when he got a whiff of their combined scent on him. “Did you…” JJ growled. The other alpha was breathing heavy and growing increasingly more angry as he took a step towards Otabek. It took all of Otabek’s self restraint not to react to JJ. His alpha instincts were telling him to fight, but he shoved them down. He needed to be calm for Yuri.</p><p>“Calm down, JJ.” Mila grabbed his arm, and JJ stopped moving but didn’t look away from Otabek. She sent a withering look to JJ and then asked, curiously, “... Did you though?”</p><p>“No.” Otabek answered, honestly. “I slept over at Yuri’s cause he wasn’t feeling well.”</p><p>Yuri’s entire body was tense and his scent was sour. His shoulders were hunched and he was staring at his shoes, allowing his hair to cover his face from their friends’ view.</p><p>“That true, Yurio?” Viktor asked. He and Viktor had gotten closer, and Otabek knew Viktor respected him. Viktor knew he wasn’t the type to try anything on Yuri, but Otabek respected that he still wanted Yuri’s confirmation.</p><p>“Yeah…” he breathed, finally looking up. “My grandpa’s in the hospital and I didn’t wanna be alone last night so…”</p><p>“He’s in the hospital?” Yuuri repeated, worried. JJ frowned and Mila pulled him back a little so he wasn’t crowding Otabek.</p><p>“Um. Yeah. He was in heart surgery and there were some complications so… um. He’s staying at the hospital for a while.” Yuri explained, frowning. Otabek knew he hadn’t wanted to make a big deal out of this, but he also knew it wouldn’t be worth it to lie about it.</p><p>“Oh jeez.” Viktor frowned, sympathetically. “Do you know how long?”</p><p>“No. Beka said he’d drive me to visit him today so I guess I’ll find out then…” Yuri muttered, and JJ’s eyes slid back to him.</p><p>“Do you want us to go with you?” Mila asked, and held Yuri’s hand with a sad look on her face. Yuri sighed, and Otabek knew this was exactly the reason he didn’t want to tell them.</p><p>“No, that’s okay. Beka will be with me.” he said, not letting go of Mila’s hand but shifted subtly his body away from her. He felt JJ eying him and he made eye contact with JJ this time, feeling irritation rise in his chest. JJ looked away after a second, frustrated.</p><p>“We’ll do something soon. How come you didn’t say anything yesterday?” Mila asked, doting on him. Otabek could tell Mila cared a lot about Yuri, just from the way she was giving him her complete attention right now. Sometimes she sort of dismissed him or didn’t always pick up on his moods, but when it really came down to it, he knew she cared for him like he was a part of her own family. </p><p>“I…” Yuri looked down. “I just didn’t feel like talking about it...” Mila pulled him into a hug, and it took a second, but he hugged her back. When she let go, Yuri stepped back and Otabek put a hand on his back, rubbing up and down in a hopefully soothing way.</p><p>“You’re feeling better now, though?” Viktor asked.</p><p>“Yeah. We uh. Talked it out.” Yuri mumbled, stuffing his hands into the large pocket on his sweatshirt.</p><p>Otabek got the feeling Yuri didn’t want to talk about it anymore, and spoke up. “We should get to class. It’s almost 7:50.” Otabek could only describe the look Yuri gave him as grateful, and the group disbanded. </p><p>Otabek was glad nobody in class seemed to notice Yuri’s scent all over him. He supposed the suppressants kept anyone from knowing Yuri’s scent except those he was around very often.</p><p>~~~</p><p>As Otabek walked into the locker room during 7th period, he was both glad and a little disappointed he could barely smell Yuri on him anymore. Glad because he didn’t want to meet Yuri’s grandpa smelling like they just hooked up, but disappointed because Yuri’s scent was one that he really liked. It was familiar and calming, and reminded him of the blond.</p><p>He’d noticed that Yuri changed as soon as he got into the locker room every day. Usually, by the time Otabek arrived, Yuri was either almost done changing or already changed. Yuri was sat on the bench in front of his locker, looking at his phone as Otabek opened his own locker.</p><p>“Hey man.” a guy named Chris greeted him. Chris was a senior and an alpha. He was slightly taller than Otabek, and seemingly very comfortable with his body. The guy walked around the locker room with his junk hanging out all the time, and Otabek was not surprised to find him sitting on the bench in front of their lockers with nothing, not even a towel over his lap.</p><p>“Hey.” Otabek said, not bothering to tell him to cover himself. He was ignored every time. They talked for a couple minutes while Otabek changed into his gym clothes. Yuri smiled at him as he went into the small gym room that his class was held in, and Otabek couldn’t help but smile right back as he pulled his shirt over his head.</p><p>“Ooh.” Chris smirked as he finally began putting his swim shorts on. “So what’s up with you and him?”</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“You and that guy. I know you wait for him everyday after school.” Chris pointed out.</p><p>“Yeah, he’s a friend. His name’s Yuri.” Otabek said.</p><p>“Oh come on, man, really? A friend? You stare at him all the time.”</p><p>“Ugh. Yeah? He’s a cute omega. Half the guys in this room stare at him.”</p><p>“Just saying. He smiled at you.” Chris laughed as he shut his locker, throwing his towel over his shoulder and walking away. </p><p>~~~</p><p>Otabek left his class a few minutes early to take a shower in the locker room. He was sweaty and it was probably best not to take any chances that he still smelled like Yuri when meeting his grandpa. The soap he kept at school wasn’t the same as his usual soap. It left his skin feeling rubbery and made the hair on his arms and legs feel rough, but it was all he had so he used it anyway. </p><p>He changed back into his jeans and tee shirt, and hung up his towel to dry in his locker. His hair was damp but drying fast when he stood up and shouldered his backpack. Yuri was already changed back into his leggings and sweatshirt, leaning against his locker with his phone in his hand. </p><p>Chris laughed at him when he caught Otabek staring at him, and Otabek groaned before making his way over to Yuri.</p><p>“Hey.” he greeted, and Yuri smiled at him, pocketting his phone.</p><p>“You took a shower?” Yuri asked when he noticed Otabek’s wet hair, putting on his backpack.</p><p>“Yeah. I stunk.” he said. Yuri reached up and ran his fingers through Otabek’s damp, curly hair. Otabek had to lower his head for him to reach easier.</p><p>“Oh I see. You don’t want to meet my grandpa when you smell like sweat and me.” Yuri smirked playfully.</p><p>“Would you want that?” Otabek laughed, following him out into the hallway.. </p><p>“No, I guess not.” Yuri smiled at his shoes.</p><p>“Don’t worry, your bed still probably reeks of me.” Otabek muttered, smirking as Yuri spluttered and covered his face with his hands. </p><p>“You make it sound like we-!” Yuri cut himself off as Otabek was struggling to stifle his laughter. “You’re such an asshole!”</p><p>“Yeah.” Otabek agreed, still laughing. Yuri was obviously trying to hold back his smile.</p><p>Then, the bell rang, and their hands found each other. The halls filled with students, and Otabek lead him through the crowd in the foyer and out to the parking lot.</p><p>JJ still looked at him distastefully, but Otabek had gotten good at ignoring him. Mila offered to go with them to the hospital about three times before they escaped to Otabek’s car, and he could tell Yuri had been getting annoyed by it.</p><p>“You okay?” Otabek asked as they got into the car. Ayana took the backseat without complaint.</p><p>“Yeah, I’m fine. They’re just…” Yuri groaned, buckling his seat belt.</p><p>“Overbearing?” Otabek finished.</p><p>“Yes. That.” Yuri smiled. “I really do appreciate that they care so much but… sometimes it’s a little too much. I mean I already said no like three times and she just kept asking!”</p><p>“Mhm.” Otabek hummed as he pulled out of the parking space.</p><p>“She’s probably not used to you hanging out with someone else so much.” Ayana commented, distractedly. A glance back told Otabek she was staring at her phone from the middle seat.</p><p>“Huh.” Yuri realized. “You’re probably right.” Then he turned to Otabek, “Am I neglecting them too much?”</p><p>“What?” Otabek laughed. “No, we all hang out like, at least twice a week.”</p><p>“No I meant,” Ayana said, “she’s probably used to you venting and bein’ all emotional to her, you know? She’s used to being the one who supports you, and now ya got someone else doin’ it so she’s overcompensating.” </p><p>“...How are you so good at reading people?” Otabek muttered, making her laugh.</p><p>“I didn’t think of that…” Yuri murmured.</p><p>“You shouldn’t feel bad.” Ayana continued, giving out advice like it was nothing. “She just needs to get used to it.”</p><p>“Um. Thanks, I guess.” Yuri smiled, then changed the subject. He turned in his seat so he could see Ayana, and they started talking about her day. Otabek smiled as Yuri let her rant about random things. They started talking about Ayana’s two-faced friends, then about this guy she liked, then about how she got put in a group assignment with the worst people she possibly could’ve been partnered with, and on. </p><p>Otabek definitely counted it as a plus that Yuri got along well with his sister. Family was important to him, and he couldn’t stop the smile spreading across his face as Yuri agreed that girl was a total bitch! </p><p>He was almost disappointed when they got to Otabek’s house and Ayana got out of the car. Almost.</p><p>Yuri didn’t bother to ask before pressing play on the Imagine Dragons CD already in the player. He put it on low volume as always and relaxed in the seat.</p><p>“You excited to see him?” Otabek asked.</p><p>“Yeah. Kind of worried… I hope he’ll come home soon.” Yuri murmured.</p><p>“I’m sure he will.” Otabek said, holding out his hand with his elbow resting on the center console. Yuri smiled softly and took his hand.</p><p>“Thanks for taking me to visit him. It means a lot.” Yuri squeezed his hand, and he squeezed back.</p><p>“Like I said, I’ll take care of you.” he murmured. He hesitated for only a second before bringing Yuri’s hand to his lips and kissing his knuckles. Yuri blushed and smiled softly at his shoes. Cute.</p><p>~~~</p><p>It took about 20 minutes to get to the hospital and find a parking spot. He took Yuri’s hand on the way in and the receptionist directed them to Yuri’s grandpa’s room.</p><p>“He’s okay enough to have visitors.” Otabek said as they walked.</p><p>Yuri took a deep breath and nodded as they got into the elevator. He leaned into Otabek’s side as they went up, but then walked so fast to Nikolai’s room, he was dragging Otabek behind him. When they got to his door, Yuri cracked open the door before Otabek could even catch his breath.</p><p>“Yuri?” a gruff voice called from inside.</p><p>“Grandpa.” Yuri smiled, more like beamed, as he stepped inside to hug his grandfather. Otabek followed him in, but waited by the door, reluctant to interrupt them. Nikolai was an old man, he had a gray beard and was in a hospital dress, covered by blankets. He had a bowl of soup on the table next to him and a remote in his hand. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”</p><p>“Did you take a taxi here?” Nikolai asked as Yuri pulled back and sat on the bed. “Who’s this?”</p><p>Otabek smiled and stepped further into the room. “Otabek. Nice to meet you.” he held his hand out, and Nikolai shook it.</p><p>“You got yourself a boyfriend and didn’t tell me, Yurochka?” Nikolai laughed loudly, though it was immediately followed by a coughing fit.</p><p>“What! No!” Yuri spluttered. “He’s not my- We’re just friends!”</p><p>“Relax, relax. I’m just joking.” Then he turned to Otabek. “Come on, sit down. I won’t bite!”</p><p>Otabek took a seat on the chair beside his bed as Yuri began hammering Nikolai with questions about the surgery. Nikolai had been having some trouble breathing and a lot of chest pain. He said they’d be keeping him in the hospital for at least another week to make sure he heals well.</p><p>Yuri tried to get his grandpa to allow him to spend the night at the hospital, but Nikolai insisted he needed to sleep in his bed so he could be well rested for school. Yuri pouted for a while, but he didn’t make too much of a fuss about it. They both didn’t bring up that Otabek had stayed over the night before.</p><p>Overall, Nikolai was a nice old man, and Otabek could also see where Yuri got his playfulness from. He was always smiling and laughing, even though it looked painful for him. </p><p>Yuri was so comfortable in Nikolai’s presence, as well. He lounged on the couch with his arms bent under his head, legs splayed out with his shoes kicked off. He was the most at ease Otabek had ever seen him, though he supposed if he thought Yuri was calm when it was just Otabek… Having two familiar alphas around would keep any omega comfortable.</p><p>Otabek texted his mom that he would miss dinner again and they watched the news for a few hours, because that’s what Nikolai wanted to watch. </p><p>“Are we allowed to get food here if we aren’t patients?” Yuri asked, around 8. The room was dark, except for a lamp beside Nikolai’s bed and the glow of the little TV mounted on the wall.</p><p>“There’s a cafeteria.” Nikolai responded, though he was almost falling asleep.</p><p>“Mmmh.” Yuri hummed, obviously not satisfied with that.</p><p>“Do you want to go get something to eat?” Otabek asked. “It’s getting pretty late anyway.”</p><p>“Yeah… Are you gonna be okay if we go?” Yuri asked his grandpa.</p><p>“Mh. Yeah. Get out of here. Get to bed at a good time!” he waved his hand flippantly, his eyes still closed. Otabek wondered if he was just waiting for them to leave. He was probably getting tired from laughing and talking so much when he was in pain.</p><p>“Okay, I will.” Yuri assured. Nikolai let out a sound that was sort of between a hum and a snore. “Have fun watching uh… the news and… sleeping…” It was obvious Yuri was sad to be leaving his grandpa’s bedside, and Otabek put a hand on Yuri’s back.</p><p>“It was nice to meet you.” Otabek offered.</p><p>“You too, Oduhbek.” Nikolai grunted. “Drive safe and all that.”</p><p>“I will.” Otabek assured.</p><p>“Bye!” Yuri called as they stepped out. Otabek shut the door softly and they started the walk back to the elevator.</p><p>“I have work tomorrow so I can’t take you to visit again. Maybe Mila could.” Otabek suggested.</p><p>“Yeah, probably. God, I feel so much better now that I know he’s doing okay…” Yuri breathed.</p><p>“Well I’m glad.” Otabek smiled.</p><p>“Still… My house is really lonely with it just being me…” Yuri mumbled, looking away from him.</p><p>Otabek smirked as they reached the elevator, and wrapped an arm around the omega after pressing the button for the ground floor. “Hmm. I think my mom’s gonna get worried if I keep not coming home.”</p><p>“Sorry…” Yuri breathed, his scent souring. He frowned and hunched his shoulders, dejectedly. “You don’t have to. You’ve already done so much for me… It’s okay-”</p><p>“No, baby, I’ll stay over. It’s not a big deal.” Otabek reassured, the words coming out of his mouth naturally, without thinking.</p><p>Yuri gasped and it took Otabek a second to realize why. Yuri’s face was red and he nuzzled into Otabek’s chest, embarrassed. “Baby?” Yuri echoed.</p><p>“Uh. I… Yeah? Is that okay?” Otabek’s heart was beating fast, but Yuri wasn’t pulling away.</p><p>“Yeah… I think I like that.” he breathed. Yuri looked up at him with doe eyes, and he leaned down a little. Yuri’s cheeks were pink and his skin was practically glowing. His freckles were like constellations on his face. He bit his lip, they were so close… He could just lean down a little and-</p><p>The elevator door opened. Yuri pulled back quickly, face going red and averting his eyes. Otabek shook his head as he followed Yuri out into the lobby. They didn’t talk on the way out to the car, but Otabek could see Yuri was smiling softly. He couldn’t help the small smile on his own face as they got into his car.</p><p>“So uh.” Otabek started, biting his lip. “Where do you wanna eat?”</p><p>“Hmm.” Yuri hummed, sinking into the passenger’s seat. “Do you just wanna go back to my house and like… order pizza? We can watch a movie too or something.”</p><p>“Sounds good.”</p><p>~~~</p><p>Y: My grandpa smelled my bedroom and just got done interrogating me about you</p><p>Otabek was in the middle of family dinner when his phone vibrated. His mom had brought chinese food on her way back from work, so his family was stuffing their faces on it. It wasn’t often she decided not to cook. Not that her cooking was bad. No, it was good, but sometimes you just want some chinese!</p><p>He unlocked his phone and smiled at it before typing out a reply.</p><p>O: is he mad?<br/>Y: … <br/>Y: He wants to know every detail about you so he can decide if he approves or not<br/>O: oh shit<br/>O: tell him i lift 190<br/>Y: Thats stupid no<br/>O: weak<br/>Y: He still calls you oduhbek<br/>O: nickel eye<br/>Y: PFFT</p><p>“Beka.” his mother smiled from across the table. Ayana was snickering, having looked over his shoulder. “Why are you smiling at your phone like that?”</p><p>“Uh… no reason.” he said, shoving his phone into his pocket and taking another bite of his sesame chicken.</p><p>“He met someone.” Ayana sang, and Otabek glared at her.</p><p>“Ooh?” his mom cooed, delighted.</p><p>“His name is Yuri. He’s an omega and he’s super cute.” Ayana continued, pulling out her phone and searching for Yuri’s Instagram.</p><p>“Ayana, come on!” he protested, as his parents both leaned over to look at Yuri’s picture. Otabek knew Yuri’s Instagram like the back of his hand, and he knew most of Yuri’s pictures were either photos of his art, selfies, or group pictures. Otabek was in a few of them, but Yuri always asked before posting a picture of him.</p><p>“Oh he is cute!” his mother smiled, taking Ayana’s phone so she and his dad could see, and scrolling through. “And an artist! How old is he?”</p><p>“Ugh. He’s 16.” Otabek answered reluctantly, as he picked at his food. He sighed because he knew this was going to happen eventually. He couldn’t just bail on his family for an entire week and come home reeking like an omega without them getting curious.</p><p>“How did you meet him?” his mother asked, eagerly.</p><p>“Uh. We have class together… We’re not even dating so-”</p><p>“You spent all that time over at his house and you’re not even dating?” his father interrupted. “I hate to think about what you were doing over there…”</p><p>“What? No!” Otabek spluttered. “We didn’t do anything! His grandpa was in the hospital!”</p><p>“So he wasn’t in heat?” his dad asked, suspicious.</p><p>“No! His grandpa was in the hospital and he was… really torn up about it so I....” </p><p>“Beka took him to visit like every day he didn’t have work.” Ayana said, trying to steer the conversation back.</p><p>“That was nice of you.” his mom commented, smiling. His dad nodded his agreement. “You should invite him over. I’ll make dinner and we’ll meet him.”</p><p>“Uh. Maybe at some point…” he said vaguely. He didn’t want to scare off Yuri with his family’s questioning. He was relieved when his mom finally took pity on him and changed the subject. He made sure not to smile as he texted Yuri again.</p><p>O: my family caught me smiling at my phone and ayana told them all about ‘the cute omega he met at school’<br/>Y: Aaaaaa<br/>Y: What did she sayyyyy<br/>O: she showed my parents your instagram<br/>Y: Noooo my insta is trash<br/>O: its adorable<br/>Y: Aaaaa *v*<br/>Y: Also, smiling at your phone? ;)<br/>O: quiet you<br/>Y: &lt;3 never</p><p>He was definitely failing at not smiling at his phone, but he ignored his family’s teasing.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Halloween</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>this is where the rating will go up</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was Halloween night, and even though Yuri would much rather have stayed in and binge watched horror movies, he was at a party. He didn’t know why, but as soon as Viktor told him he should go to at least one high school party before he graduates, he just sort of shrugged and said okay. Maybe he wanted to get the full high school experience. Maybe he wanted to get drunk? </p><p>He definitely planned on getting drunk. An intoxicated omega at a party full of equally intoxicated alphas was not a good idea, but he had his alpha there to take care of him. Well, not his alpha… But he trusted Otabek enough that he may as well be.</p><p>Ever since their… almost-kiss… they’d been a lot closer. They flirted more often and with more confidence. They almost always found an excuse to be touching, whether it was holding hands or a light hand placed subtly on his back, even hooked ankles under the table. Yuri couldn’t get enough of it. At this point, they both knew the other was interested; it was only a matter of who would make the move first. </p><p>Of course, Yuri knew he could never make the first move. He always had that little niggling fear in the back of his mind that he was reading this wrong. Or maybe Otabek would change his mind. Maybe it would ruin their friendship.</p><p>So he would wait and take what affection he could get from the alpha until their budding romance either bloomed, or died. He knew which he was hoping for.</p><p>Yuri was dressed as a caveman. He’d take any excuse to wear animal print clothes in public without looking especially tacky. He had a torn up leopard print dress-thing on, with little animal print shorts on underneath because he was not that comfortable with his body. It showed off his neck, shoulders, and his legs which, even though he was an omega and barely had hair on his legs anyway, he shaved. His hair was braided into a messy fishtail, little leaves and fake vines intertwined. He’d even put on nude makeup that would no doubt get smeared or sweat off later, but he didn’t care. He looked good, and he felt good.</p><p>Mila was dressed like a flapper in the 1920s, red sparkly dress, heels, and her bright red hair was styled in a bob. JJ was a pirate. It was just a baggy white button up sloppily tucked into brown pants, boots,  a blue trench coat and a pirate hat from the Halloween store. Otabek was a skeleton. He had a hoodie and black jeans with bones on them. Yuri had insisted he let him do his makeup.</p><p>The second he stepped in, a few eyes flew to him, and he sort of shrank under it, pulling himself closer to Otabek, who had warned him people would stare at his costume. It wasn’t exactly the most modest...  Otabek took his hand, like he always did in crowded places, as they followed JJ and Mila further inside.</p><p>The living room was full of teenagers in costumes. Some were watching TV, drinking, talking and laughing, or just loitering around and taking up space. The kitchen wasn’t much better, but it was much louder, as that was where the music was coming from. Yuri didn’t recognize the song playing, but it sounded like an autotuned mess, so he figured he wasn’t missing out.</p><p>Viktor and Yuuri had been noticed and dragged off into the kitchen the second they got here, and Yuri guessed they were somewhere outside.</p><p>An open bottle of beer was shoved into his hand, from where he didn’t know. He barely managed to get a grip on it and avoid dumping it all over himself before the person was already walking away, handing out more beers.</p><p>“Beka!” Yuri yelled over the music, tugging on his hand. Otabek leaned down to hear him better. “Let’s go outside!”</p><p>Otabek nodded and pushed through the horde of people out to the porch, where the music was muffled and people were drinking casually. Yuri took a deep breath of fresh hair as they stepped out. </p><p>“Phew… I can hear myself think.” Yuri commented as they leaned against the side of the house. Otabek ran his thumb over Yuri’s knuckles and he couldn’t help but glance a smile at him. The cool air chilled Yuri’s exposed skin and he leaned subtly in towards Otabek, who was radiating warmth like a heater. </p><p>“It wasn’t that loud.” JJ said, taking a big gulp of his beer.</p><p>“Says you.” Mila joked, earning a jab in the side for her efforts. </p><p>“Well I guess we have drinks now?” Otabek said, bringing the bottle to his lips and taking a big drink easily. Had he drunk alcohol before?</p><p>Yuri eyed his own bottle and took a sip, grimacing at the taste. </p><p>“Is this your first time drinking?” Otabek smiled. Is it that obvious?</p><p>“Yeah. I don’t know if I like it.” he took another sip and grimaced again, making Otabek laugh.</p><p>“Yuri, chug!” JJ grinned, and chugged his beer. Yuri made a face and tried to chug it, but stopped after a couple seconds because of the taste. “Aw come on.”</p><p>Otabek was watching him with an amused grin as Yuri raised the bottle to his lips again and knocked it back, though he was definitely not enjoying it. JJ was chanting, and Mila was cheering. After a couple tries, he finally got it all down. </p><p>“Yuri’s first drink!” JJ cheered. “Viktor’s gonna be sad he missed it.”</p><p>“Let’s get you another one!” Mila grinned, and took one off the edge of the porch railing, using the railing to pop the cap. Yuri took it from her, but didn’t drink it just yet. He wanted to get that taste out of his mouth…</p><p>“You drink some!” he countered, and she smirked before chugging her own beer.</p><p>“Becks, you haven’t even touched yours!” JJ pointed out.</p><p>“I’m driving you all home, remember?” he said. “I’m not going to finish this.”</p><p>“Then gimme!” JJ said, and yoinked it out of Otabek’s hand. Otabek’s other hand tightened around Yuri’s and he narrowed his eyes, but let JJ take his drink. He doubted anyone else could smell the sudden change in Otabek’s scent, but he definitely could. It was heady and musky, but a little bitter. Yuri leaned further into Otabek’s side and squeezed his hand, hoping to soothe him, even if it was only mild irritation. </p><p>Otabek dropped his hand, and for a second, Yuri’s heart stopped. He was relieved he hadn’t overstepped when Otabek wrapped an arm around his waist immediately after, pulling him closer. He beamed up at the alpha, and then smiled down at his shoes, basking in his crush’s attention. Otabek was warm, and the cold air bit Yuri’s exposed skin, so he curled into Otabek’s chest, a flustered smile on his face as Otabek’s arm tightened around him. </p><p>He knew JJ was smiling with that fake smile that gave away that he was actually pissed, and he felt sort of bad… Guilty. He knew it bothered JJ when he was affectionate with other people, and he did it anyway. He knew Mila would be upset that JJ was jealous, and it was his fault. He never wanted to make Mila upset. JJ he could deal with, but Mila was… possibly in love? Lately it hadn’t been very clear, but for the longest time she’d claimed to love him. He wondered if he wasn’t just speeding up their inevitable break up...</p><p>Then he felt this… sick satisfaction. It would be better if they broke up… Yuri was sure they’d both be happier after everything was said and done. Plus, JJ should have gotten over him a year ago! Why was he still causing so much drama in the group? He was supposed to be in love with Mila and yet he always got pissed when Otabek gave him any affection!</p><p>Mila eyed JJ as he failed to hide his frown. “I’m gonna go inside.” he said, giving a fake smile and walking away. Mila took a deep breath and followed him into the house.</p><p>While Yuri felt both good and bad that JJ was gone, he really felt bad for Mila. She was trying so hard to make it work with JJ, and he just… wasn’t. It was obvious he didn’t really love her. The way he would check other people out, hook up with people, and get so obviously upset when Yuri was with someone else… Mila truly didn’t deserve someone like him. She deserved so much better! Yuri honestly didn’t know how she could put herself through this.</p><p>“Yikes.” Yuri laughed, awkwardly.</p><p>“He’s yikes.” Otabek murmured into his hair, resting his now-free hand on Yuri’s hip. “It is so easy to piss him off.”</p><p>“You shouldn’t.” Yuri said, wrapping his arms around Otabek’s middle, beer bottle still in his hand. “He just… needs to move on.”</p><p>“He should’ve moved on a long time ago.” Otabek frowned, resting his chin on Yuri’s head.</p><p>“He’s usually a nice guy… You know that.” Yuri insisted, because it was true. When JJ wasn’t being jealous or horny, he was actually a good person. Yuri knew he could trust JJ with almost anything, and he knew JJ would never take advantage of anyone. He wasn’t manipulative or particularly vain. Just… jealous.</p><p>“Just not when it comes to sharing you?” Otabek countered thoughtfully. “You want to know the thing that pisses me off the most about him?”</p><p>“Beka.” Yuri sighed.</p><p>“He only likes you because of your body. I mean, yeah… You’re really hot, but there’s so much more to you than just your looks. He gets so mad, but he can’t even fully appreciate you.” he murmured, rubbing circles into Yuri’s skin through his costume.</p><p>Yuri gasped softly and pulled back just enough to see Otabek’s face, trying to find any hint of a joke on his face. He found none.</p><p>“You’re so much more than that. You’re fucking amazing.” Otabek continued, and suddenly Yuri realized their faces were so close. He could feel Otabek’s breath on his cheek. Otabek’s eyes flicked down to his lips in a silent question and Yuri tilted his head to bare his neck, an answer.</p><p>Otabek kissed his lips once, slow and sweet. It took Yuri’s breath away. His lips were warm and chapped, but to Yuri they were perfect. So much better than how he’d imagined kissing the alpha would be. The party faded out of his senses and all he could think about was this alpha. His alpha. Finally.</p><p>Otabek nuzzled his face in Yuri’s neck, breathing in and scenting him possessively. “You have no idea… how long I’ve wanted to kiss you.” Otabek murmured, his voice low.</p><p>“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted you to kiss me.” Yuri breathed.</p><p>Otabek breathed in his scent deeply and kissed him again, harder this time. Yuri wrapped his arms around Otabek’s neck as he was walked backwards. He arched his back naturally as it hit the wall of the house and he felt Otabek’s warm hands on his waist and hips.</p><p>Yuri gasped when his feet left the floor of the porch, instinctively holding onto Otabek’s shoulders tighter. Hands were holding him up under his thighs as he was pushed against the wall. He barely held onto the beer bottle in his hand as his lips were captured again and again. </p><p>Otabek’s hands roamed all over his body, his thighs, his hips, ass, waist, and chest. Otabek used his hips to keep Yuri pinned up against the wall. He was everywhere, surrounding Yuri. Yuri was letting out little moans and breaths between kisses, but he couldn’t stop them from escaping.</p><p>He heard a couple people whooping and cheering behind Otabek, and though he was a little embarrassed, he couldn’t bring himself to push the alpha off of him. Instead, he wrapped his legs around Otabek’s hips and caressed his face with his one free hand. He melted into the kiss, letting Otabek take the lead and giving into his omega instincts to be soft and submissive for his alpha.</p><p>God, he never wanted this to end.</p><p>~~~</p><p>Otabek was tracing little patterns on Yuri’s thigh under his costume and watching people play some variation of Call Of Duty. His legs were becoming numb because this couch was really shitty but he didn’t want to disturb Yuri right now. </p><p>Otabek wasn’t sure exactly what time it was. His phone was in his pocket and he couldn’t reach it because Yuri was sitting on his lap, nuzzling into his neck and breathing in his scent. The omega, his omega, was purring shamelessly.<br/>
He could barely hear his purring over the sound of the party, but he could feel it. The vibration. It was… intensely satisfying. </p><p>Otabek didn’t know how much alcohol Yuri had had, but it must have been enough that he’d lost all embarrassment of PDA. Not that Otabek minded. He’d heard Yuri purr before but only when Yuri was unconscious and probably not even because of him, just because he’d been comfortable. Maybe he always purred in his sleep, but now he was sure it was because of him. Because his omega was happy and content and because he had finally made a move.</p><p>“Bekaaaa.” Yuri whined when he stopped moving his hand on Yuri’s thigh.</p><p>“Yeah baby?” he smirked. </p><p>Yuri giggled at the pet name and pushed his body flush against Otabek’s, wiggling a little on his lap. “I liiiiiike that…” </p><p>“Do you? I didn’t notice.” Otabek smiled, pulling Yuri impossibly closer with warm hands on Yuri’s ass, underneath his torn up animal print dress. He could feel Yuri’s underwear and he slipped a couple fingers just barely underneath the fabric. Yuri’s skin was soft and smooth and Otabek wanted to never let go of him.</p><p>Yuri hummed and lifted his head from Otabek’s neck. They kissed slowly, Yuri’s hands on Otabek’s face and neck and shoulders, Otabek’s hands on Yuri’s thighs and ass and hips and waist, touching everywhere that would have been inappropriate before Yuri was his. </p><p>Kissing Yuri left his mouth and lips tingling, and he kissed his way down Yuri’s neck, biting and sucking and leaving little dark patches to mark Yuri as his. His skin was sweet under his tongue and he hummed in appreciation as Yuri scratched his scalp, baring his neck for his alpha and letting out little gasps and moans that only Otabek could hear.</p><p>Otabek could feel himself getting hard as Yuri wiggled on his lap, and groaned a little at the friction. His jeans were getting uncomfortably tight because Otabek was pretty big, even without being hard. He was positive Yuri felt his bulge when the omega started moving his hips, just enough for his erection to grow painful.</p><p>He desperately wanted to take Yuri into the nearest bedroom. Just thinking about bending his omega over a bed made his cock throb and his hips thrust upwards without his permission. His mind ran away with that image, Yuri writhing underneath him and calling out his name, thrust after thrust between creamy thin thighs...</p><p>“Yura…” he grunted, hands settling on Yuri’s hips, keeping them still with a bruising grip. He couldn’t do this right now… Yuri was drunk and… they’d just barely gotten together. Otabek wanted their first time to be special, and if Yuri was drunk it couldn’t be special. </p><p>Yuri let out a disappointed whine and kissed him again before laying his head down on Otabek’s shoulder. He could feel Yuri’s breath on his neck as the omega began purring again. He tried to focus on anything other than Yuri’s weight on top of him, the pressure in his pants, the little breaths on his collarbone he was sure Yuri was doing on purpose.</p><p>It took at least 15 minutes for his erection to go down because Yuri kept trying to wiggle in his lap, rubbing against him and refusing to settle in one place for long.</p><p>He was positive his skeleton makeup had rubbed off, at least around the mouth area, because Yuri had little splotches of black and white makeup around his lips and on his neck.</p><p>He’d seen glimpses of Viktor, Yuuri, Mila, and JJ all night, but for the most part, his focus had been on Yuri. He’d taken some sick satisfaction when JJ had come back out onto the porch and saw them, Otabek between Yuri’s legs, holding the omega up against the wall and absolutely ravishing him. JJ had taken one look at them and went back inside with a frustrated scowl over his shoulder at Otabek.</p><p>Mila took some sneaky pictures of them throughout the night, or at least, she probably thought she was being sneaky. But Otabek wasn’t so dumb as to not pay attention to their surroundings, especially when he knew Yuri wasn’t. He didn’t mind though, as long as Mila would send him the pictures later.</p><p>It was Mila who finally approached them, with JJ following reluctantly behind her. “You about ready to go?” she asked, smiling giddily at both of them, all cuddled up together. Otabek could tell she was happy that they’d finally gotten together.</p><p>“Yeah. If Yuri will ever let me get up.” he smirked, and Yuri only pressed himself heavier onto Otabek.</p><p>“Mmmh no.” Yuri bit his lip playfully. “Guess you’ll just have to carry me~”</p><p>“Oh no.” Otabek whispered, kissing the tip of Yuri’s nose and making the omega giggle. His smile was wide and genuine, making the corner of his eyes wrinkle. Otabek didn’t know what he did to deserve that smile.</p><p>“Can we just go?” JJ interrupted them, scowl on his face and arms crossed. Otabek tore his eyes away from his omega and noticed the bags under JJ’s eyes, and the little dark bruises all over his neck. Mila had a suspicious lack of hickies on her neck, though she seemed too drunk to notice.</p><p>Otabek squeezed Yuri’s thigh and narrowed his eyes at JJ. “Come on baby. Gotta get up.” he murmured, and Yuri whined, but slowly did as he was told, swaying a little on his feet, but Otabek was quick to steady him with an arm around his waist.</p><p>Otabek couldn’t deny, calling Yuri ‘baby’ was probably one of his favorite things, along with pissing off JJ. And if he could do both at once, then all the better. </p><p>He lead Yuri out of the way of the people playing Call of Duty and out to his car. He’d had to park down the street a little, so he was laughing and trying to keep Yuri from tripping over his own feet the entire way. Watching Yuri fumble with the CD cases in his car had Otabek and Mila in tears. He nearly broke a CD case but Otabek wouldn’t have held it against him even if he did.</p><p>He dropped JJ off first, not wanting to spend any more time with him than he needed to. JJ had thanked him for the ride home reluctantly and Otabek didn’t bother waiting to make sure he got into his house before pulling out of his driveway. Mila’s house was pretty close to JJ’s, and logically he should’ve dropped her off first. Yuri had begun to feel a little drowsy from sitting in the car, and waved her off as she got out of the car.</p><p>Yuri played with the fingers on Otabek’s right hand and hummed along to the music as they drove out to Yuri’s house. It was only about a 15 minute drive but Yuri was nearly asleep when they arrived.</p><p>“Yuri.” Otabek murmured, shaking his omega’s shoulder gently.</p><p>“Hmmm…” Yuri hummed, barely keeping his eyes open.</p><p>“We’re here.” Otabek chuckled. Yuri hummed again and fumbled with the seatbelt. Otabek got out of the car and helped him out of the passenger’s seat as he stumbled on the uneven ground of the gravel driveway. </p><p>The lights in the house were off and Otabek was relieved he didn’t have to face Yuri’s grandpa. Bringing his grandson home, shitfaced, with hickies all over his neck and his makeup rubbed off only around his mouth. They looked like absolute shit right now.</p><p>Luckily, the door was left unlocked, so he didn’t have to try and get Yuri to put in the passcode. Yuri was pressing sloppy kisses to his face and apparently trying his hardest to distract Otabek while they were on the stairs.</p><p>“You should stay.” Yuri slurred as they reached the landing. Yuri wrapped his arms around Otabek’s neck as Otabek tried to walk him backwards towards his bedroom.</p><p>“I think that would be… a bad idea.” Otabek murmured as Yuri finally caught his lips in a kiss.</p><p>“Mmh please...?” Yuri whined as his back hit his bedroom door with a thump. “What if I throw up? Or… fall? Or choke or something?”</p><p>“Yuri.” he tried, and lead Yuri into his bedroom. It was dark as the only light was coming from the hallway. </p><p>“I neeeeed you…” Yuri continued, sitting on his bed and looking up at Otabek through his eyelashes. “You’re gonna leave me all alone?”</p><p>Otabek groaned and buried his face in Yuri’s neck. “This is such a bad idea…”</p><p>“Pleeeeease?” Yuri breathed, laying back and pulling Otabek down on top of him.  Otabek wanted so badly to be able to stay, but he knew he would regret it in the morning, when he would have to face Nikolai. Not only that, but he knew if he stayed, there was a much greater chance they’d hook up, and Otabek did not want their first time to be like this.</p><p>“Baby.” he growled, tightening his grip on Yuri’s waist. “Don’t argue with me.” Yuri whimpered at his tone and bared his neck in submission, an expression of shocked sadness on his face.</p><p>“...You don’t have to growl at me…” Yuri whispered sadly, his scent souring drastically. He was looking off to the side and pouting, and Otabek knew Yuri hated when alphas were commanding with him. Yuri had once told him offhandedly that it was part of the reason he’d broken up with JJ.</p><p>Otabek sighed, smoothing his hands down Yuri’s sides. “I know… I’m sorry, baby...”</p><p>“It’s fine…” Yuri whispered, pushing him away gently with a hand on his chest. Otabek stood up as Yuri clumsily scooched back and pulled the blanket over his bare legs, not even bothering to change out of his caveman costume.</p><p>He tucked Yuri into his bed and plugged in his phone for him. He would have gotten him a glass of water and some ibuprofen if he wasn’t so weary of waking up Nikolai. </p><p>“Kiss me goodnight?” Yuri asked timidly, as if he thought Otabek might actually say no. </p><p>“Of course.” Otabek murmured, and kissed his lips slowly. This time, Yuri made no move to deepen the kiss, and Otabek felt kind of bad. Yuri was drunk and out of his mind and Otabek just had to go and growl at him… He could tell it had sobered Yuri up a little.</p><p>He left Yuri’s house with a mental promise to make it up to his omega, even if he knew Yuri might not even remember it in the morning.</p><p>~~~</p><p>Y: I think im dying<br/>
Y: I got makeup smeared all over my pillow<br/>
Y: And holy shit my neck<br/>
Y: Like wtf i hope yours looks at least as bad as mine</p><p>Otabek had woken up the next morning to a flurry of texts from Yuri, and he smiled as he rolled over on his side to read them.</p><p>O: havent looked yet but im sure its a disaster<br/>
O: youre a leech<br/>
Y: SAYS U<br/>
Y: At least i have concealer :p<br/>
O: i wear my hickies with pride thank u<br/>
Y: Pfft<br/>
Y: My grandpa would freak if he saw them<br/>
Y: Also i have work in an hour :( and im pretty sure they wouldnt appreciate it<br/>
O: do u want me to drive you?<br/>
Y: Aaaaa youre so sweet &lt;3<br/>
O: ill be over in 30 mins<br/>
Y: Thank youuuu</p><p>Otabek couldn’t hold back his smile at their conversation, he never could. He’d be lying if he said driving Yuri to work wasn’t just an excuse to see him before school the next day. And, whether or not Yuri remembered it, he was going to make up for growling at him last night.</p><p>He lingered a moment before rolling out of his bed and grabbing clothes out of his dresser. Just jeans and a tee shirt because he stood by what he said about wearing his hickies with pride. He may or may not have stopped to admire them for a couple minutes in the mirror before he got in the shower. Luckily, he avoided his parents as he left, but Ayana nearly spit out her orange juice when she caught a little glimpse of his neck.</p><p>When he arrived at Yuri’s house, Yuri was sitting on the steps of his porch, looking at his phone. He was wearing a white button up shirt rolled up to the elbows and black slacks, his name tag already pinned to his shirt. His hair was pulled up in a topknot, his neck sadly clear of Otabek’s hickies. There was no evidence of any marks on it at all.</p><p>He beamed when he saw Otabek pull into his driveway and walked down the long driveway to his car.</p><p>“Hey.” Yuri smiled tiredly as he got in. He put his phone between his thighs as he buckled his seatbelt, and covered his mouth in shock. “Oh my God! Your neck! I did that?”</p><p>Otabek smirked, “Yup. Like I said, you’re a leech.”</p><p>“Yours is way worse than mine. Oh my God.” Yuri gaped as Otabek pulled out of the gravel driveway.</p><p>“Well, you were drunk.”</p><p>“Oh yeah, you didn’t drink last night.” Yuri realized, sheepishly.</p><p>“Someone had to make sure you got home okay.” Otabek smiled. “It was fun though. You’re cute when you’re drunk.”</p><p>“It’s not fair that you remember and I don’t.” Yuri pouted.</p><p>“All you need to know is that you’re adorable when you’re drunk.” Otabek smirked, placing a hand on Yuri’s thigh as he settled in for the ride into town.</p><p>“Shut up.” Yuri whined, but he was hiding a flustered smile behind his hands.</p><p>“I’m pretty sure Mila took some pictures of us though. I’m sure they’re beautiful.” he teased, and Yuri groaned.</p><p>“Wait…” Yuri gasped. “Did we…?”</p><p>“No.” Otabek laughed as Yuri sighed with relief. “You’d still be feeling it if we did.”</p><p>“Okay, rude.” he rolled his eyes. “You gonna wear those hickies with pride tomorrow at school?”</p><p>“Um, yeah?” Otabek said as if it was obvious. “They’re a cherished gift.”</p><p>“Oh my God. You’re ridiculous.” Yuri smiled, and leaned back in his seat, biting his lip. “I’m sure everyone will be curious. What are you going to tell them?”</p><p>“That my amazing boyfriend gave them to me at a Halloween party, of course.”</p><p>Yuri gasped softly, and looked down with a giddy smile on his face. “Your boyfriend?”</p><p>“Yuri, will you be my boyfriend?” he asked, smiling because he already knew the answer.</p><p>“Obviously.” Yuri smiled, leaning over and kissing his cheek. “I thought you’d never ask.”</p><p>“Well, I wanted you to answer sober.” Otabek chuckled.</p><p>“I wasn’t drunk when you kissed me.” Yuri pointed out.</p><p>“You were well on your way there.”</p><p>“But I wasn’t!” he insisted. “Oh well. It’s better that our anniversary won’t be on Halloween anyway. Now we’ll have two reasons to celebrate.”</p><p>Otabek smiled giddily. Yuri was already thinking about future anniversaries? He bit his lip to try to tame his smile, but it persisted through the entire drive to Fareway.</p><p>When Otabek pulled into a parking space, it was only 10:50, so Yuri unbuckled his seatbelt but didn’t get out. Instead he leaned on the center console and played with Otabek’s fingers, resting his head on Otabek’s shoulder. There was no music playing and Yuri seemed to be enjoying the quiet. Lord knows he must have a terrible hangover.</p><p>“When do you get off today?” Otabek asked, his voice a low rumble.</p><p>“Mmh. Seven.” Yuri sighed, obviously not looking forward to an eight hour shift.</p><p>Otabek hummed and they kissed gently, slowly. When he pulled back, Yuri was smiling softly, and he couldn’t resist pulling him in again. Yuri was pliant and a little meek now that he was sober, letting Otabek take the lead, but he kept the kiss soft.</p><p>Yuri’s mouth tasted like mint, and Otabek frowned, “Did you not eat breakfast?”</p><p>Yuri blushed and averted his eyes. “N-no… You can tell just by my breath?”</p><p>“Baby…” Otabek murmured, and swiped his thumb across Yuri’s cheek. “You must be starving…”</p><p>“It’s okay…” Yuri smiled a little at his doting and the pet name. “I can just eat something on my break. They just take it out of my paycheck if I buy something.”</p><p>“Mmh. Fine.” Otabek relented. “You better get in there.”</p><p>Yuri whined and dropped his head heavily on Otabek’s shoulder, before picking himself up and getting out. Then, he crawled back in with his knee on the seat and guided Otabek’s face in for a goodbye kiss.</p><p>“Text me when you get off.” Otabek said as Yuri pulled back.</p><p>“I will. Bye~” he smiled, closing the door and walking off towards the front entrance of the grocery store. Otabek watched Yuri’s back until he got inside and disappeared from view before finally pulling out of the parking space.</p><p>~~~</p><p> </p><p>The next morning, the marks on his neck had faded considerably, but were still faintly there. He showered and threw on a band tee shirt before going out to the car. </p><p>He was glad to avoid his parents again, even though he’d been teased relentlessly about it at dinner last night. He was sort of glad his parents were so laid back. They were on the younger side, having had Otabek when his mother was only 17 years old. They understood that he was young and, so far, he had yet to get an omega pregnant, so they were happy with that.</p><p>When he emerged from the crowd in the foyer, Yuri beamed up at him as he pulled Yuri into his arms, pressing a chaste but sweet kiss to his lips. “Good morning.” he murmured, resting his hands on Yuri’s waist.</p><p>Yuri’s hair was in a half-up topknot, and a black leather choker adorned his neck, making it look absolutely edible. He had on a dark purple cropped sweatshirt, one that he’d seen Mila wear before, black high-waisted shorts that showed off his elegant legs, and his normal muddy black boots he always wore. </p><p>He looked stunning, and Otabek ran his hands up Yuri’s sides, underneath his cropped sweatshirt. He bit his lip when he felt Yuri shiver at the touch, tightening his grip slightly.</p><p>“Here we go.” Mila groaned sarcastically, though she was smiling at them. “They’re gonna be inseparable now.”</p><p>“They pretty much already were.” Viktor chided, watching the couple with a grin similar to Mila’s.</p><p>“Says you. You and Yuuri have always been inseparable.” Yuri accused, tucking himself further into Otabek’s side.</p><p>“Hey, it’s not a bad thing!” Yuuri laughed. “We’re happy for you two.”</p><p>“Yeah! You guys are adorable together.” Mila cooed.</p><p>Yuri let out an adorable little whimper and hid his giddy smile in Otabek’s chest, letting Otabek know he was happy too. Otabek squeezed his arms around Yuri’s waist, blithely ignoring JJ’s frown. Yuri was practically plastered to his front, back towards their friends, and conversation left them behind.</p><p>“You look so fucking good, baby.” Otabek murmured lowly in Yuri’s ear. Yuri keened at the compliment and arched his back into his alpha’s hands.</p><p>“Mila picked my outfit today. If you couldn’t tell.” Yuri mumbled, obviously a little self conscious to be wearing something so… provocative? No, it wasn’t really provocative. It just showed much more skin than he was used to.</p><p>“She did a good job.” he said lowly, and Yuri let out a little breathy sound as Otabek’s hands squeezed his ass, because he could do that now!</p><p>Yuri leaned up and kissed his lips, bringing his hand up to stroke his neck. “Your hickies are fading.” he commented.</p><p>“Maybe you’ll just have to darken them again…” Otabek smirked, leaning down for another kiss.</p><p>“Mmh, you wish.” Yuri whispered. “Look.” Yuri bared his neck, sweeping his hair to one side, revealing a single brown purple splotch right at the base of his long neck. It was barely there, but it still made Otabek’s throat tighten at the thought of Yuri letting people see his mark.</p><p>He took Yuri’s lips again before nuzzling into his omega’s neck, breathing in his sweet scent and nibbling on his skin in an effort to darken the mark. Yuri took a shaky breath and his eyes slid closed. He craned his neck further, allowing his alpha to do as he pleased. </p><p>Otabek’s teeth grazed over his scent gland, making Yuri gasp softly. He bit at the leather high on Yuri’s neck and trailed open mouthed kissed down the column of his throat.</p><p>“God, you’re so gorgeous…” he muttered, pulling back slightly and admiring the sheen of saliva and little teeth marks on Yuri’s neck.</p><p>Yuri huffed and wiped at his neck, “You’re a dog.”</p><p>“You like it.” Otabek smirked. </p><p>“Hush you…” he smiled, blushing.</p><p>“It’s darker now.” Otabek commented with satisfaction.</p><p>Yuri sighed, “I’m still gonna have to cover it up when I go to work, you know?”</p><p>“Mmm…” Otabek hummed in disapproval. “Or you could not.”</p><p>“I think that would reflect badly upon the company.” Yuri smiled, and then shyly continued. “But maybe this weekend… if you’re not doing anything-”</p><p>“That would be amazing.” Otabek smirked.</p><p>“You didn’t even hear what I was going to say.” Yuri laughed.</p><p>“Didn’t need to. Answer’s yes.” Otabek announced.</p><p>“Okay.” Yuri bit his lip. “I hope you’ll have fun raking up leaves in my grandpa’s huge ass lawn for me.”</p><p>“It’ll be a blast. Will you bring me lemonade?”</p><p>“Oh of course. It’s only polite.” Yuri giggled.</p><p>They stood huddled together until the group disbanded, and then walked hand in hand to their first period.</p><p>~~~</p><p>Yuri was Otabek’s now. He was abundantly clear about it. The softness in his voice reserved only for Yuri. An arm wrapped possessively around a thin waist at all times, especially around a certain other alpha. Yuri replied in kind, only really allowing Otabek to touch him, no one else. Heated kisses under the stairs after lunch when everyone knew they should be in class.</p><p>Otabek had never really been one to skip class or go to parties, but with Yuri hanging off his arm he found more motivation to. It was fun when you were with someone else, and he would never turn down an opportunity to show off his omega.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. VII</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Otabek was at Yuri’s house, sitting with his boyfriend on his bed, doing chemistry homework when Yuri’s phone pinged. He almost made a comment about how Yuri was the one who wanted to study in the first place, but he was glad he didn’t when Yuri gasped and cursed under his breath. His scent turned sour and bitter.</p><p>“What?” Otabek asked, and Yuri showed him his phone. It was a text thread with Mila.</p><p>M: so jj broke up with me</p><p>“Shit.” he muttered, eyebrows rising. “I mean… we knew it was gonna happen but… still.”</p><p>“He’s been talking to other people a lot more lately…” Yuri mumbled as he tried to video call her using Snapchat, but she didn’t answer, so he typed out a message instead. “I know it bothers her...”</p><p>Y: please answer &lt;333</p><p>The second time he called, she picked up after 2 rings. Her face showed up on his phone screen. She was in her room, laying in bed with her lights off. Her hair was messy and it looked like she had just finished crying. Her hair was messy and her eyes were red rimmed</p><p>“Mila?” Yuri asked, his voice soft. Otabek leaned his head on Yuri’s shoulder and into the frame of the camera, letting Mila know he was there too. He didn’t want her to start talking about all her feelings without knowing he was listening.</p><p>“Yeah…” she breathed, surprisingly clearly.</p><p>“What happened?” Yuri asked, pushing aside his homework and laying back on his bed, getting comfortable. Otabek laid beside him, though respectfully kept his hands to himself except for leaning his head in so he could see the screen. He was sure it would only make Mila feel worse if they were all lovey dovey while she was going through a… not-break up.</p><p>She sighed. “We were hanging out at my house and um… We had an argument… And… a lot of things came up…” Otabek frowned and grabbed Yuri’s hand off screen. She was talking about Yuri. Everyone knew it. “He just said we’re done and left.”</p><p>“He just left?” Yuri echoed, frowning.</p><p>“He said he didn’t know why we were even still trying…” Mila whispered, like she knew if she spoke any louder her voice would give away too much. Honestly, Otabek didn’t know why they were still trying either.</p><p>“I’m sorry…” Yuri sighed, and Otabek could feel the guilt coming off him in waves. He squeezed his hand and turned his body so he was wrapped around Yuri, his alpha instincts to comfort his omega outweighing his effort to make Mila feel better.</p><p>She took a deep breath. “It’s fine. I saw it coming, just…” she trailed off.</p><p>“Do you think he meant it?” Otabek asked hesitantly, uncertain if she wanted his input. “He says a lot of things when he’s mad.”</p><p>“I… don’t know. Part of me hopes he did mean it.” Mila admitted. “But part of me wants to hold on to what we have…”</p><p>Otabek hummed, though he didn’t really have anything else to say. Sure, he felt bad for her, but he was also glad. Maybe now there would be less drama, and Yuri wouldn’t have to feel so guilty all the time.</p><p>“You might be happier if you let go.” Otabek offered.</p><p>“Maybe…” Mila murmured, grimacing.</p><p>“Wonder if he’s gonna avoid us tomorrow.” Yuri thought aloud. </p><p>Mila took another shaky deep breath. “I think he just needs to cool off.”</p><p>“Then you’ll talk to him?” Yuri asked, gently. Otabek could smell his scent, and it was calming. He knew Yuri was subconsciously trying to soothe Mila, even though she wasn’t physically with him. Otabek liked it, though, so he wasn’t complaining.</p><p>“I mean, I’ll have to. I have four classes with him, cause we planned our schedules together.” Mila frowned. “I just… It’s like, I know it’s not working out, but I…” She scoffed. “I don’t want to be alone…”</p><p>“Mila…” Yuri breathed, voice sympathetic. “You’re not alone. You have us. Viktor, Yuuri, Beka, and I will always be there for you!” Otabek nodded along. “You’re my best friend. You won’t ever be alone.”</p><p>Mila gave a watery smile, though Otabek could tell she wasn’t convinced. Otabek had a feeling she meant she didn’t want to be alone romantically, as in single. </p><p>“Thanks…” she sniffled. “W-What were you two doing before I called?”</p><p>Otabek reached over and held up a worksheet. “Homework.”</p><p>“Hah. Sure.” she smiled, though it was strained.</p><p>“Hey!” Yuri gasped. “We were! We got through more than half of the first page!”</p><p>“You sure there was no canoodling involved?” she smirked.</p><p>Yuri groaned playfully and Otabek spoke over him, “There might have been a little bit of canoodling.”</p><p>“Knew it.” she smiled.</p><p>“Ugh! Whatever.” Yuri pouted. “Did you get the homework done?”</p><p>“...No.”</p><p>“...You wanna work on it with us?” Yuri offered, hopefully.</p><p>Mila sighed, “Nah. I’m really tired right now. I think I’m gonna go to bed, actually.”</p><p>“Okay.” Yuri breathed. “I’m guessing... you aren’t picking up JJ tomorrow morning?”</p><p>“Yeah, no.” Mila grimaced. “It’ll just be us.”</p><p>“Alright. Try and get some sleep. Drink some water, wash your face.” Yuri doted.</p><p>“I know, I know.” she smiled, rolling her eyes. “Goodnight guys.”</p><p>“Goodnight.”</p><p>“Night!”</p><p>Yuri locked his phone and let it drop from his hand onto the mattress, taking a deep breath. “Aaaaaaaaaaaahhhh.” he groaned.</p><p>“Same.” Otabek commented, collapsing on his back beside Yuri.</p><p>“She’s my best friend and I love her but… I can tell she blames me, at least a little…” Yuri vented. “And I feel bad… I know she blames me. And I know JJ gets upset whenever he sees us, which makes her upset...”</p><p>“Mhm.” he hummed, prompting him to continue.</p><p>“And I don’t know how to fix it. Cause ever since she started seeing JJ, it’s like I’ve taken the backseat completely, which is totally unfair cause I’ve known her way longer!”</p><p>Otabek nodded, just to show he was listening. He didn’t really have anything to say about it he hadn’t already said. Yuri knew his opinion of Mila was sort of neutral, and it was fluid. Sometimes he liked her, sometimes he didn’t. He knew he wouldn’t talk to her if it wasn’t for Yuri, anyhow.</p><p>“She’s just always so… focused on JJ. I know she cares about me, but…”</p><p>“She thinks it’s your fault he doesn’t love her.” Otabek finished. Yuri hummed solemnly. Slowly, Otabek shifted so he was on his side, wrapping an arm around Yuri’s waist and nuzzling into his neck to scent him. “It’s not your fault.” he murmured into his skin.</p><p>Yuri sighed, shaking his head slightly. “I know…”</p><p>“They’re gonna deal with their shit and either they’ll work it out, or they won’t.” Otabek continued, gently. “I think, the best option would be to stay neutral as much as you can.”</p><p>“Probably.” Yuri breathed, stroking his fingers through Otabek’s hair. “Now I’m just tired.”</p><p>“Emotions?”</p><p>“Mhm.” he hummed.</p><p>“I should probably go anyway. It’s late.”</p><p>Yuri whined as Otabek sat up but didn’t protest when he began packing up his backpack. Yuri reluctantly packed up his own stuff and moved his backpack off his bed.</p><p>Otabek left him with a kiss on the front porch, both looking forward to and dreading the drama that was sure to be prominent in the morning.</p><p>~~~</p><p>When Otabek arrived at school the next day, the group was standing in a terribly awkward silence in front of the trophy case in the foyer. He approached, and Yuri gave him a look that said he knew this was exactly what was going to happen.</p><p>“Um.” he looked between JJ and Mila, who were both standing opposite each other, pretending the other didn’t exist.</p><p>His arrival seemed to have prompted Viktor to speak, “So what happened?” He looked uncharacteristically serious, arms crossed with a faint frown on his face.</p><p>Mila and JJ remained quiet, glaring harder at the floor.</p><p>Yuri started softly, reaching out to grab Mila’s hand, “Can I--”</p><p>“We broke up.” she cut him off harshly. His hand froze where it was nearly touching her, and he stuffed his hands into the pocket of his sweatshirt, lowering his head and letting his hair hide his face.</p><p>Otabek scowled. She didn’t really have to treat him like that, did she? It wasn’t Yuri’s fault, and she was supposed to be Yuri’s best friend. He didn’t think it was fair that she got to vent and complain to Yuri all she wanted, but could also turn around right after and treat him like dirt when he was just trying to help.</p><p>Otabek wrapped an arm around Yuri’s waist, pulling him closer, away from Mila. He went easily, leaning into his alpha’s side. Just as Otabek suspected, Yuri’s scent told him the omega was feeling guilty again. He was surprised Mila couldn’t sense the effect she was having on him. Maybe she could, he wondered, and she was doing it regardless.</p><p>“Oh.” Viktor blinked. “Again?”</p><p>“Fuck off.” Mila huffed, glaring daggers at the floor as if she were trying to burn a hole into it.</p><p>“Sorry.” Viktor shrugged.</p><p>“Are you still going to be friends?” Yuuri asked gently.</p><p>Mila lifted her eyes expectantly at JJ, who tensed and clenched his jaw. “Yeah, I guess.” he mumbled.</p><p>Mila scoffed and looked at him incredulously. “You guess? You don’t even want to be near me at all, do you?”</p><p>“No, I…” JJ shook his head, but it was obvious he was exhausted. “That’s not it. I don’t… I can’t talk about this right now.”</p><p>“Then when?”</p><p>“I don’t fucking know, Mila.” JJ spat. He opened his mouth again to say something, but closed it and shook his head at the floor.</p><p>She stared at him for a moment. “I can’t believe you sometimes.” She walked away dramatically, making sure to shove his shoulder on her way past. He didn’t look up as she retreated. Otabek wondered how awkward it was going to be when they inevitably had to see each other in their first period class.</p><p>“Woah.” Viktor said.</p><p>“Whatever.” JJ glowered. He didn’t speak at all until the first bell rang and they dispersed.</p><p>~~~</p><p>JJ was the last person to arrive to Mr. Feltsman’s classroom for lunch. Yuri had been attempting to talk to Mila about the chemistry homework, offering to let her copy off his paper, but she was distracted and short with him.</p><p>“Fine.” she sighed, plucking the paper out of his hands. Yuri just blinked at her and grimaced. It had been a peace offering, though it clearly didn’t have the effect Yuri was hoping for. She set to work copying the answers from his paper, and Yuri retreated back to his spot beside Otabek unhappily.</p><p>Otabek sighed and squeezed his hand. Yuri put his head down for the rest of lunch.</p><p>~~~</p><p>Chemistry was even worse, mainly because Mila had taken the seat Otabek usually sat in beside Yuri, meaning the two alphas had to work together for the partner work the teacher assigned. The two omegas retreated to the other side of the room as soon as the teacher’s back was turned, though really it was Mila dragging him away.</p><p>JJ seemed grateful for the change though, regardless of their mutual dislike of each other. He’d greeted Otabek as he sat down, and was even the first one to begin working on the worksheet.</p><p>They were nearly half-way through when Otabek finally decided to bite the bullet. “So what happened?” His voice was neutral, as casual as always.</p><p>JJ sighed, but didn’t seem to be surprised by the question. “I don’t know man.” he admitted.</p><p>“Why’d you do it?”</p><p>JJ looked at him as if he was trying to figure out of Otabek really cared. Of course he cared. It affected Yuri greatly, and the sooner this whole thing was resolved, the sooner Yuri would feel better. “She’s just not… I don’t know. She’s not the one, you know?”</p><p>Otabek hummed. He did know. His first girlfriend hadn’t been the one, and he’d known it for months before he actually broke up with her. “You should tell her that.”</p><p>“I can’t.” JJ said immediately, as if it wasn’t even a possibility. “She’d be pissed.”</p><p>“She’s already pissed.” Otabek said. “Can’t get any worse than this.”</p><p>“I guess.” JJ frowned.</p><p>“If you don’t talk to her it’s going to be awkward for the rest of the year.” Otabek said. “And you’ll be stuck with me for a lab partner.”</p><p>JJ blanched, and Otabek couldn’t help the tiny laugh that forced its way out of him at his reaction.</p><p>“And, not to bring up any kind of sore subject…” he said quietly, “But, she’s been taking it out on Yuri. So you know… The sooner the better.”</p><p>JJ gave him a look that Otabek thought might have been irritated, or thoughtful, or bored. Maybe all three. He couldn’t tell. He left it at that, and they got back to work on the worksheet.</p><p>~~~</p><p>The next day JJ and Mila were not-dating again. Otabek wasn’t surprised.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. VIII</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>warming: graphic smut</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“That wasn’t so bad, right?” Otabek smiled as he finally shut the door behind them. Yuri flopped down onto Otabek’s bed. He was relieved. He’d been anxious about meeting Otabek’s parents. Dinner had gone well. Otabek’s mom made spaghetti and garlic bread. Otabek must have told her he liked Italian food.</p><p>“No. I was just nervous.” he breathed. The overhead light was off, but Otabek’s TV and computer illuminated the room in a blue tint. He could just barely see the snow falling outside the window. Otabek laid down beside him on his side, peering down at him in the darkness of the room.</p><p>“They like you.” he smiled, just barely grazing his fingertips over Yuri’s cheek and down his neck, creating a tingling sensation on his skin.</p><p>“You think?” Yuri breathed. “I hope they do.”</p><p>“They do.” Otabek assured, and kissed his lips slowly. Otabek trailed his hand down Yuri’s chest and stomach, caressing his thigh before settling on his hip, pulling him closer. Yuri bared his neck as Otabek nuzzled into it, leaving kisses all over his skin. His hands were sliding up underneath Yuri’s sweater and slipping down the back of his tight jeans. He gasped when Otabek squeezed an ass cheek in his hand.</p><p>“B-Beka…?” he breathed, automatically spreading his thighs as Otabek hovered over him. He could feel Otabek’s bulge rubbing against his thigh.</p><p>“Is this okay, baby?” Otabek asked, pulling back just enough to see his face.</p><p>“Yeah…” he whispered. His heart was pounding, hands trembling in anticipation. This was a big step in their relationship. They’d been together about three months now, and though they had gotten very comfortable with physical affection, they had never done anything below the belt.</p><p>Sometimes, Otabek had gotten a little handsy, grabbed his ass or pushed him up against a wall. But it was never with any sort of intent like this. There was urgency to get in as many kisses as possible before they inevitably had to get back, but now… Now was soft and slow and gentle.</p><p>Otabek kissed his lips and lifted his sweater up. He raised his arms gracefully as Otabek undressed him and threw his sweater somewhere on the floor. His arms immediately crossed over his chest to cover himself, but Otabek’s hands closed around his wrists and gently guided them to rest above his head on the pillow.</p><p>“You’re gorgeous…” he murmured. “You don’t need to hide yourself from me, Yura.”</p><p>Yuri whimpered and nodded, biting his lip. Otabek tugged his own shirt off as well, tossing it to the floor. Yuri was glad; he knew he would’ve been too embarrassed if he was the only one exposed. He had seen Otabek shirtless before, but had never been able to touch. Otabek allowed him to trace his fingers lightly over his chest and stomach. Otabek’s muscles were firm and his skin was smooth except for his coarse chest hair. He had subtle abs, wide shoulders, and strong arms. He was the gorgeous one, in Yuri’s opinion.</p><p>Yuri’s body was nothing like his. It was small and delicate. Creamy pale skin, very little body hair. His upper body was scrawny. His shoulders were narrow and bony, he didn’t have abs, his arms were skinny. He had a flat stomach, which was probably one of the only things he liked about his own body. Little waist, wide hips, and elegant legs. Really, the only important physical attributes of an omega...</p><p>Otabek tugged on the hem of his skinny jeans. “Can I?” Yuri nodded. Otabek unbuttoned his pants and slowly pulled them down his legs, hands gliding over his smooth skin on the way down. He stood up for a second to take off his own pants as well, leaving them both in just their underwear. Yuri’s, of course, was a leopard print pair of boy shorts, but Otabek just found them adorable. Otabek’s were just plain black boxers, and Yuri had seen them numerous times, when they would spend the night watching Netflix and necking in Yuri’s always-too-hot bedroom.</p><p>Yuri’s thighs were hairless and thin, but firm. Otabek’s thighs were thick and muscular and very hairy compared to his own. He sort of liked the contrast between his own pale skin and Otabek’s darker tone, emphasized by the luminescent glow of the computer and TV.</p><p>“H-Have you ever…?” Yuri asked timidly, as Otabek crawled over him again. He spread his legs as Otabek settled between them. The hair on his thighs tickled Yuri a little as he shifted on the bed.</p><p>“Yeah.” Otabek answered, hesitantly. </p><p>“Oh.” Yuri’s heart sank at that. He’d been hoping he would be Otabek’s first. Of course not… Otabek was handsome in every aspect of the word. Obviously he’d have had sex already.</p><p>“Have you?” Otabek asked.</p><p>“Y-Yeah…” he breathed, averting his eyes in shame. Otabek seemed surprised, so he shyly continued. “When I was with JJ.”</p><p>“Mine now.” Otabek growled. Yuri barely held in a whimper at his tone, and stretched his neck even further in submission. Otabek nuzzled into his neck, breathing in his scent and laving his tongue over Yuri’s scent gland. Yuri’s breath hitched and he cradled the back of Otabek’s head with his hand. “My omega…”</p><p>“Yours…” he whispered, suddenly taking satisfaction in belonging to his alpha like this. Usually, he was never the type of omega to particularly like being commanded or ‘claimed’… but with Otabek… it just felt so natural to give in to his instincts. To surrender all control to his alpha and trust that he’d be taken care of. He knew he would be.</p><p>Otabek kneeled between his legs and kissed down his chest, leaving teeth marks and little dark bruises. Yuri whined when he sucked one of his pink nipples into his mouth, teasing it with his teeth.</p><p>“We gotta be quiet, kitten.” Otabek smirked. Yuri gave him a weak whack on the arm at the nickname but he couldn’t deny he sort of liked it. It wasn’t the first time he’d used it, but hearing it now was different from the teasing tone he had every time before.</p><p>“Then s-stop teasing me…” Yuri breathed.</p><p>“Can I take these off then?” Otabek asked, pulling at the hem of his underwear.</p><p>“Yeah.” he nodded, biting his lip. Otabek kissed him and slid the garment down his legs, wide hands caressing his smooth skin all the way to his ankles. He tossed the underwear to the floor and kissed one of Yuri’s ankles softly before going down on him again.</p><p>He kissed all over his flat stomach and protruding hip bones, looking up and studying all the expressions Yuri was making at the attention. His smooth thighs and the inside of his knees. Yuri couldn’t help but whimper and whine and gasp. He’d never felt so loved. So pretty and beautiful as Otabek made him feel.</p><p>“You’re sure?” Otabek asked again, looking up at him. He nodded, and Otabek kissed his neck. He felt a finger prodding at his entrance and gasped, holding onto Otabek’s shoulder and bicep with shaking hands. He spread his legs further as the first finger entered him. His slick made the slide in easy, and while it felt weird to have someone else doing it, it felt so intimate.</p><p>He let out a shaky breath when Otabek added another finger, and started sucking on his neck to distract him. He reached a hand down to palm at Otabek through his underwear, and Otabek groaned in his ear at the friction. He could tell, just by feeling his clothed erection, that he was big. Really big. It sort of intimidated him.</p><p>He gasped and arched his back when Otabek hooked his fingers, wrapping his one free arm tight around Otabek’s neck. He whimpered and almost cried out when Otabek did it again. He added a third finger and really started opening him up.</p><p>“Ready?” Otabek murmured.</p><p>“Yes.” he breathed. Otabek only pulled away for a second to take off his underwear. Yuri gasped when he saw Otabek’s cock. It was big, thick and long. There were veins running down it and he was uncircumcised. He didn’t know how on earth it was going to fit inside him.</p><p>“Okay.” Otabek crawled over him, and he wrapped his arms around his alpha, his legs spread for him. “Tell me if it hurts too much, okay baby?”</p><p>“I will.” Yuri whispered. Otabek kissed his lips and slid in, just a little. Yuri could feel the head of Otabek’s cock pushing against his rim, and he gasped. It was much bigger than three fingers. He whimpered as Otabek pushed in more. His slick kept it from feeling too rough, but the stretch of his rim stung like he’d never felt before.</p><p>“You’re- ah! Y-You’re bigger than…” Yuri moaned, letting his head fall back against the pillow, exposing his throat.</p><p>“Hell yeah, I am.” Otabek grunted, and nuzzled into his neck. “Almost there baby. You’re doing so good for me.”</p><p>He whined at the praise and involuntarily bucked his hips. He gasped as a wave of pleasure emanated from his groin. He bucked his hips again, feeling the same pleasure.</p><p>“You like that, kitten?” Otabek whispered, probably jokingly, in his ear as he finally bottomed out.</p><p>“Mmh yes.” Yuri breathed. </p><p>“You’re taking me so well, baby.” Otabek murmured as he pulled out slowly, and then pushed back in at the same pace, but at a slightly different angle. </p><p>It took him a couple tries, but he found Yuri’s spot. “Ohh...”</p><p>“God, you look so pretty like this, Yura.” Otabek groaned right into his ear as he thrusted. “You’re fucking perfect. Perfect for me.”</p><p>Yuri whimpered and cradled the back of Otabek’s neck with one hand, the other grasping his alpha’s bicep in an effort to ground himself to something. </p><p>He hadn’t felt this vulnerable with JJ. With JJ, it had only felt like… a means to an end. It hadn’t felt this intimate and loving. He expected sex with Otabek to be the same, but it was so much better.</p><p>“You’re so fucking perfect.” Otabek rasped, his thrusts losing the steady pace he’d been keeping thus far. But he still tried to be gentle, and Yuri appreciated the sentiment. </p><p>Otabek treated him like something precious. Something delicate and beautiful and sexy. The way he caressed every inch of Yuri’s skin like he was a gift from God. The way he gave out compliments and praise like he’d just been waiting for a chance to say it aloud. It made Yuri feel like the most important person in the world, at least to Otabek. </p><p>“Ah~” Yuri whimpered. “Beka.” Yuri’s body felt like it was on fire. His head was spinning and he didn’t even realize when an intense wave of pleasure overwhelmed him that he’d come all over his own stomach. He clamped a hand over his mouth to stop himself from keening out too loud. Otabek just kept thrusting, working him through his orgasm and chasing his own.</p><p>He could feel Otabek’s knot expanding inside of him, stretching him even further than he was already. There was the slightest bit of pain, but somehow it was bearable. It was only a dull ache and a feeling of fullness.</p><p>His head was hazy and the only feeling he could register was the sensation between his legs as he was overstimulated. He didn’t care though. He was with his alpha and he was intensely satisfied.</p><p>He ran his fingers through Otabek’s hair, brushing up the short hairs on the back and sides of his head just like how he knew Otabek liked. He bared his neck as much as he could, letting Otabek mouth at his throat and inhale his scent. He let out whines and whimpers at every thrust, and he could tell they were spurring his alpha on.</p><p>When Otabek’s hips stuttered, he could feel him coming inside him. It was wet and warm and unfamiliar; he had never been knotted before. But Otabek’s hot groan in his ear made it the best feeling he could recall because it meant he had satisfied his alpha.</p><p>“Fuck, baby…” Otabek exhaled huskily. He carefully flipped them so he was on his back, and Yuri laid in his lap. He pulled the blanket over them both and Yuri made himself comfortable in their new position. They both caught their breath together as they came down from their highs. “You doing okay, Yura?”</p><p>“Yeah.” he breathed, though he was having trouble keeping his eyes open. The computer monitor and TV seemed way too bright in contrast with the rest of the dark room. “I’ve never… knotted before.”</p><p>“Does it hurt?” Otabek asked, concerned.</p><p>“N-No, just… aches, a little.” Yuri breathed.</p><p>“Mmh. Sleepy now?” Otabek asked, and Yuri could hear the smile in his voice as Otabek tightened his arms around him.</p><p>“Mhm…” Yuri hummed, cuddling further into his alpha.</p><p>“Go to sleep then.” Otabek murmured. “I’ll take care of you.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Uni</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Yuri was both looking forward to, and dreading, his senior year of high school. </p><p>He was looking forward to it because he was only one year away from graduating. He would be able to move out from his grandpa’s house and, hopefully, move in with Otabek. He’d start online art school and be on his way to becoming a real artist. He’d be mostly independent and have more freedoms. His grandpa was planning to give him the pickup truck for his graduation gift and he’d been saving up to buy a nice PC.</p><p>The downside of senior year… All his friends, and his boyfriend, graduated last year. Viktor and Yuuri were still together, but they lived in the city now. JJ was going into trade school. Mila was going to a school for fashion design at the same school Otabek was going for computer engineering. It wasn’t too far away, but he was still out of town, meaning Yuri was alone.</p><p>Otabek’s high school graduation was bittersweet for both of them. It meant they were growing up, but it also meant they’d be apart for a while. Over the summer, they’d been practically inseparable.</p><p>Yuri had met Otabek’s parents a long time ago, and it was no surprise anymore when he would join them for breakfast in the mornings. Coming down from Otabek’s bedroom with messy hair and borrowed clothes was normal by now.</p><p>Yuri had driven with Otabek to his college dorm and helped him move in, like a good boyfriend should. He’d stayed a couple days and he was glad Otabek had a single dorm so they could be alone.</p><p>It was the morning of August 24th, meaning Yuri had to go home today. Otabek’s classes started the next day and Yuri’s school started in a couple days as well.</p><p>His bedroom was all unpacked, but it was still a little plain. The gray walls had posters up that Otabek had taken from his bedroom at home. The bed took up most of the room, though it wasn’t very big. It was a little bigger than a twin, but smaller than a double. A TV was sitting on the dresser, Xbox hooked up to it. His laptop sat on the desk, along with a few textbooks and papers. There was a mini fridge in the corner with a microwave sitting on top of it.</p><p>The omega was laying in bed, wearing only a little blue, spaghetti strap tank top and his white, boyshort style underwear, wrapped up in Otabek’s arms and sheets. There was a sadness in his chest as he nuzzled his face in Otabek’s neck, breathing in his alpha’s familiar scent.</p><p>He knew it wasn’t that far away. Iowa City was only about an hour drive, less if you drive fast. He could visit whenever he wanted. They’d call and text all the time. Otabek had assured him they’d make it work.</p><p>But he couldn’t help being clingy. He wasn’t used to not seeing Otabek. His mind couldn’t help but supply images of Otabek meeting new people. What if he met someone else while he was here? What if he met another omega? Someone better… What if he forgot about Yuri? What if he got too busy? Or lost interest?</p><p>“Baby?” Otabek asked, noticing the change in his scent. His voice gruff and sleepy. He tightened his arms around Yuri’s small body, and Yuri curled into him, reveling in his alpha’s attention.</p><p>“Good morning.” he breathed, kissing Otabek’s neck.</p><p>“What’s wrong?” Otabek murmured, turning on his side and burying his own face in Yuri’s neck, scenting him. Yuri could feel his stubble rubbing against his throat and his breath on his collarbones, comforting him.</p><p>“Nothing.” Yuri shook his head, stretching out his neck as Otabek nibbled gently on his scent gland.</p><p>“Mh. Love you…” he reminded his boyfriend, knowing how Yuri needed to be reassured sometimes.</p><p>Yuri smiled at that, “I love you too.” he whispered, his hand stroking Otabek’s soft curly hair, feeling the shaved sides of his head. His alpha’s warm hands were holding his waist, smoothing down his thighs and touching every inch of his skin slowly. Rucking up his tank top and massaging his ass, making him let out little breathy sounds.</p><p>Otabek gently pushed him onto his back, lazily crawling over him and leaning down to catch his lips in a kiss. He kneeled between his omega’s spread legs and Yuri could feel the hair on Otabek’s legs tickle his own hairless thighs. Yuri ran his finger tips over Otabek’s toned stomach and chest, feeling his body hair and firm muscles as Otabek lifted his top.</p><p>Yuri sat up a little and raised his arms to allow Otabek to lift his tank top over his head. His hair fell back around his shoulders like a curtain as he laid back on the pillow. Their lips only parted for a second before they connected again.</p><p>“It’s a shame your heat’s late, baby...” he mumbled, one hand trailing down his body to palm between Yuri’s thighs. He rubbed a finger over Yuri’s sensitive rim underneath his underwear.</p><p>Yuri spread his knees and arched his back, baring his neck and resting his hands above his head on the pillow, tangling his fingers into his own hair. He was spreading himself out for his alpha, offering himself up to be taken and claimed because he knew Otabek could be pretty possessive sometimes.</p><p>“It’s okay…” he breathed softly as Otabek mouthed at the column of his throat, laving his tongue over Yuri’s collarbones and nipping gently at his ear lobe. “The last thing we need right now... is for me to get pregnant anyway…”</p><p>“Mh. Nice thought though.” Otabek hummed between kisses. He massaged Yuri’s ass cheeks beneath his underwear and trailed wet kisses down his neck to his chest.</p><p>“Is it?” Yuri asked, a smile gracing his lips. They’d never talked about it, but Yuri knew he wanted kids eventually. He’d hoped Otabek wanted kids too, but he didn’t want to freak him out by bringing it up.</p><p>“With you, absolutely.” Otabek murmured, sucking little marks into Yuri’s skin. He left teeth marks where Yuri’s ribs jutted out and around his nipples. He couldn’t hold in his gasps; his whole body was so sensitive to Otabek. He assumed it was because his heat was due soon.</p><p>Yuri carded his fingers through Otabek’s hair and squeezed the top of his broad shoulders as he lowered himself further. Otabek’s hands were roaming over his hips and tugging down his underwear as he kissed and mouthed at Yuri’s belly button. He nibbled on his omega’s flat stomach, pinching the skin between his teeth.</p><p>He kissed Yuri’s inner thighs and the backs of his knees, stroking up and down his sides lovingly before pulling Yuri’s underwear down his lithe legs completely. He tossed it on the floor and took off his own boxers, allowing his cock to hang heavy between his legs.</p><p>He leaned up to kiss Yuri’s lips before going down on him again. He took the tip of Yuri’s dick in his mouth and Yuri gasped. Otabek hooked one of his knees over his shoulder and caressed his thigh with one hand, reaching up to tease his nipple with the other.</p><p>Yuri let out whimpers and whines when Otabek brought a hand to Yuri’s hole, prodding a little at the ring of muscle. It was incredibly sensitive, and his thighs shook with effort to keep himself still. </p><p>“Beka…” he breathed, eyes closing as he tried to relax his muscles. Otabek looked up at him without stopping his movements, and Yuri almost felt self conscious that Otabek was seeing him like this. He definitely would have a year ago, back when Yuri still wanted to turn off the lights because he was afraid Otabek wouldn’t like his body.</p><p>Slowly, Otabek crawled back up to his lips and kissed him softly. Yuri could feel Otabek’s hard cock resting on his thigh. Yuri held his jaw as Otabek slipped another finger into him, his slick making the slide in and out smooth and easy. He gasped and arched his back when Otabek hooked his fingers, making his thighs spasm.</p><p>Otabek mouthed at his neck, nibbling and biting and leaving dark marks. Yuri’s entire body was hot, his skin flushed, hands and thighs trembling. </p><p>“God, kitten…” Otabek murmured, inhaling deeply. “You smell so fucking good.”</p><p>His scent was intoxicatingly sweet because he was so aroused. He smelled like sweat and sex and love and he could tell Otabek was obsessed with it. Otabek’s scent was heavy and musky and familiar to the omega. It surrounded him and made him feel incredibly safe, in his alpha’s bed and arms. In that moment, he probably would have let Otabek do anything to him.</p><p>Yuri sighed as Otabek nibbled on his scent gland, and reached down between them to stroke Otabek’s thick cock with trembling fingers. Otabek groaned at the friction and Yuri tightened his fist. Otabek’s hips bucked when he rubbed his thumb in circles over the tip.</p><p>“Beka…” Yuri whined, stretching his neck even further to the side. “Please…”</p><p>“You ready?” he asked, his voice deep. </p><p>“Yes…” Yuri nodded and let out another whine. Otabek kissed his lips and pushed Yuri’s hands away from his cock. He guided the omega’s legs to wrap around his waist as he lined up his cock with Yuri’s hole. Yuri was chewing on his lip and wrapped his arms around Otabek’s neck.</p><p>He teased him, rubbing the tip of his cock over Yuri’s sensitive hole, pushing a little but not enough to penetrate. Yuri whined and gave him his best puppy dog eyes. He hissed at the slight pressure on his cock, and rubbed the tip between Yuri’s creamy thighs.</p><p>“Please… Beka…” he whined, looking up at Otabek with glassy eyes through his eyelashes. His face was flushed, lips red and round, hanging open as he breathed heavy. There was a sheen of sweat covering his skin, almost making him glow.</p><p>Otabek held Yuri by his hips and waist as he pushed in just slightly, unable to deny his love anything while he was looking at him like that.</p><p>Yuri gasped as the tip of Otabek’s cock penetrated him. The stretch was always painful at first, but it was worth it. Otabek’s cock was much bigger than his fingers, as he was pretty big, even for an alpha. Nine inches long and two inches in girth; he was hung.</p><p>Otabek’s face returned to his neck, scenting his omega in an effort to soothe him. He moved his hips just slightly, pushing in slowly, but he stopped when Yuri gasped and cried out.</p><p>“Baby…?” Otabek murmured.</p><p>“I think…” Yuri started, breathing heavy. “M-maybe my heat is starting a l-little sooner than I… thought.”</p><p>“That’s fine. It’s okay” Otabek assured him, keeping his voice gentle but sure. “We’re on suppressants. You've got your birth control. I’ll go slow, okay?”</p><p>“Okay…” Yuri breathed, deciding to trust his alpha. They’d never had sex during Yuri’s heat, for fear he would get pregnant, but he’d been told it was much more intense. During heat was the only time omegas were fertile, and even on suppressants there was a possibility. It was just extremely unlikely.</p><p>Otabek pulled out and gently turned him over so he was on his knees, leaning on his elbows. He arched his back and raised his ass as Otabek gently nudged his knees further apart. Yuri’s messy hair was falling into his face but he didn’t bother to fix it, knowing it would just get messed up again.</p><p>Otabek pushed in a little, and then pulled out. Yuri sucked his teeth at the initial pain, and there were tears in his eyes. Otabek held him tighter, obviously hating to see his omega in any sort of pain.</p><p>“I know, baby.” he whispered in Yuri’s ear as he kept thrusting, keeping his movements shallow and slow. “You’re okay. You’re doing so good…”</p><p>Yuri was panting, but as the pain began to fade away, his muscles relaxed. Otabek must have noticed, because his movements became longer and deeper. The stretch stopped hurting and started feeling good, sending waves of pleasure through his limbs. Yuri gasped and arched his back impossibly sharper when Otabek pushed in at just the right angle.</p><p>“Beka…” Yuri moaned, starting to push back at every thrust. Otabek mouthed at Yuri’s neck as he thrusted in and out with slow, deep movements, letting out little grunts and groans.</p><p>“You’re so good for me, kitten…” Otabek murmured, and Yuri whimpered at the praise, always happy to have pleased his alpha.</p><p>Yuri sucked in a big breath as he felt heat pool in his groin, his mouth forming an ‘o’ shape as Otabek’s thrusts grew harder and faster. Yuri completely surrendered all control to his alpha. He fell forward onto his chest, his back arching almost 90 degrees as Otabek bit and nibbled all over his back.</p><p>His thighs were trembling and his senses electrified, his voice getting louder and higher without his permission. If not for Otabek keeping him up, he wouldn’t have been able to keep himself on his knees.</p><p>“Oh yes, yes, yes, fuck!” Yuri moaned into the pillow, his entire body moving with Otabek’s powerful thrusts. </p><p>“Fuck yeah, take that cock baby…” Otabek whispered hotly in his ear, making him whimper.</p><p>Otabek was pounding into him and making the headboard slam against the wall every few seconds, one hand firmly planted beside Yuri’s head, the other holding his hip for leverage as their orgasms grew. He almost felt bad for Otabek’s neighbors, but he was pretty distracted at the moment. </p><p>He could feel Otabek’s knot expanding inside of him and the stretch was back. Only this time, it wasn’t quite as painful. It stung a little but the pleasure outweighed the pain. The extra pressure sent waves of electricity through him. He could feel Otabek’s already huge cock getting bigger, wider, harder. Throbbing inside of him to the beat of Otabek’s heart. </p><p>“You are so sexy like this, Yura…” Otabek growled, nibbling on the lobe of Yuri’s ear and completely devouring every inch of skin he could get his mouth on. “I fucking love you.”</p><p>“Love… you- ah!” he whimpered. Within seconds, Yuri was overwhelmed with pleasure. “Beka!”</p><p>He keened and clenched his eyes shut as he came on the bed sheets below him. Otabek continued slamming into him, chasing his own orgasm. Yuri pulled at his own hair and grasped the sheets tight. He couldn’t help but clench his thighs together at the overstimulation. Otabek’s hands were squeezing his hips with a grip hard enough to bruise, trying to keep him still, and Yuri found himself hoping it would bruise.</p><p>Yuri was whimpering and crying out with every thrust by the time Otabek’s hips stuttered, and he came inside his omega, making him feel impossibly full. The alpha growled possessively and bit down hard on Yuri’s scent gland, sending another wave of intense pleasure through him. Yuri worried it would break his skin for a second, before deciding he wouldn’t mind if it did.</p><p>Otabek was breathing heavy, chest heaving as his hips slowed. He turned them so Yuri laid on top of him, back to chest. Yuri whimpered at the feeling of Otabek moving just slightly inside him.</p><p>His eyes felt a little crusty with dried tears but he didn’t bother to wipe them. His hearing was muffled and he felt like he was sinking into Otabek’s body. All his muscles were relaxed, completely blissed out.</p><p>“Mine.” Otabek murmured huskily in his ear as they caught their breath and came down from their highs. </p><p>“Yours...” Yuri breathed, smiling softly. He bit his lip and hesitated before asking, “D-Did you… bite me?”</p><p>“...Not hard enough to bond.” Otabek mumbled. “I wouldn’t just… do something like that without asking first.”</p><p>Yuri exhaled, “Okay.” He didn’t know if he was glad Otabek was so thoughtful, or disappointed he hadn’t actually bitten him. “...Can we lay differently?”</p><p>“Yeah.” Otabek said, and kissed the back of his neck before carefully maneuvering them so they were spooning, his alpha’s thick cock still buried deep inside him. He could feel Otabek’s seed slowly seeping out of him between their bodies. “Better?”</p><p>“Much better.” Yuri smiled as Otabek wrapped his arms around him. He rested his head on Otabek’s bicep, letting his eyes slide closed.</p><p>“You tired again now?” Otabek asked, lightly tracing his fingers over the flushed skin of Yuri’s thighs.</p><p>“Mhm…” Yuri hummed. Otabek chuckled and nuzzled into Yuri’s neck.</p><p>“Get some more sleep then, baby.” he whispered, reaching over and pulling the blanket over them. “I’ll take care of you.”</p><p>Yuri couldn’t help but smile and lean back into Otabek’s arms, feeling a wave of fondness for his boyfriend. “You’re… I just love you so much.” Yuri whispered, his eyes becoming glossy at the thought of being apart from him for days or weeks at a time.</p><p>“Yura.” Otabek murmured, squeezing his arms around him. “I love you, too, kitten…” His voice was soft and quiet and sounded completely genuine. It made Yuri’s heart hurt. “I’m gonna visit you every weekend, whenever I can. We’ll call every night, text all the time. I promise.”</p><p>“Okay.” Yuri breathed, suddenly wishing he could see Otabek’s face. “I’ll visit you too. I’m gonna miss you.”</p><p>“I know.” Otabek sighed, kissing the back of his head. “I’m gonna, like… go through withdrawal from you or something.” he joked, making Yuri huff a laugh.</p><p>“...If you’d bitten me, you actually would.” he said playfully, squeezing Otabek’s arm that was wrapped around him.</p><p>“Maybe I will soon, then.” Otabek smirked. “...If you really want me to.”</p><p>“... I do. If you do.” Yuri whispered, biting his lip and hiding his face in the pillow.</p><p>“Of course I want to bond you…” Otabek murmured. “I love you.”</p><p>“I love you, too.” Yuri smiled. Otabek was Yuri’s rock. He couldn’t accurately describe with words how much he loved his alpha. He felt completely reassured that Otabek going to college wouldn’t hurt their relationship. He knew he could trust Otabek; he knew Otabek would never try to hurt him.</p><p>He fell asleep in Otabek’s arms within minutes.</p><p> </p><p>~~~</p><p>He woke up a few hours later. He was wrapped up in Otabek’s blanket on the bed, all cozy and warm, still naked. The overhead light was still off, and natural light filled the room through the window above the bed. The curtains were pulled back and Yuri could see the sky was bright blue. He couldn’t see the sun from this angle, but there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.</p><p>Otabek was laying beside him, now dressed in sweatpants and a tee shirt, talking to someone on the phone in Kazakh. He guessed he was talking to his mother, but he couldn’t really tell. </p><p>Yuri yawned and sat up, stretching. He winced slightly at the ache in his hips and ass, carefully laying down again with his head on Otabek’s chest, using the blanket to cover his lower half. Otabek didn’t stop his conversation as he started stroking Yuri’s hair and tracing his fingers over Yuri’s bare shoulders and back, sending tingles down his spine.</p><p>Yuri waited patiently for Otabek to finish the call, basking in the calmness of the room and just listening to his alpha’s soothing voice as he spoke words Yuri couldn’t recognize. His voice was quiet but modulated and it was easy to get lost in it, so he did.</p><p>By the time Otabek was done with the call, Yuri’s whole body was relaxed again. It felt like he was melting slowly into the blankets and Otabek’s arms. His limbs were heavy and he was perfectly content staying just like this forever.</p><p>Their combined scent was both flowery sweet and musky, probably Yuri’s favorite smell, besides Otabek’s natural scent of course. It surrounded him and made him feel incredibly safe.</p><p>“You want to go get lunch?” Otabek asked, reaching over and setting his phone on the bedside table. “It’s almost 12.”</p><p>Yuri yawned again and hummed, considering whether he wanted to get up yet or not. “Okay.” </p><p>“Better get dressed then, baby. You gonna go out in your birthday suit?” Otabek teased.</p><p>“Wouldn’t you like that…” Yuri smiled as he sat up, carefully avoiding angles that would make the pain in his hips flare up. He crawled out of bed, uncaring if Otabek saw his naked body at this point in their relationship, and grabbed his underwear from the floor, before realizing his ass was still leaking Otabek’s seed. He sighed and went into the bathroom to take a shower, knowing he would feel gross if he didn’t clean himself off. </p><p>He tried and failed to dodge Otabek as he gave his ass a playful smack when he walked past. He gasped and fixed his boyfriend with a faux offended look, who just laughed until he disappeared behind the bathroom door.</p><p>His legs were slightly shaky, as they always were after sex with his alpha, so he made sure to be careful stepping into the spray. He tried to be fast, but his hips ached and his hole was still sensitive as he washed himself, so he had to go slow for a little bit. He washed his hair and used Otabek’s soap, which would no doubt make him smell like his alpha. He quickly dried off and went back out into Otabek’s room wearing only his underwear and a towel.</p><p>He put on his jean shorts from the previous day and stole a black tee shirt out of Otabek’s dresser, tying the loose fabric in the back with a hair tie so it hugged his petite figure, leaving a little sliver of his belly button exposed.</p><p>A while ago, he would’ve been too insecure to leave his belly exposed even the slightest bit without a lot of pep talk from Mila, but really the only person he wanted to look good for anymore was Otabek, and he knew Otabek liked when he wore cropped shirts, so why not.</p><p>“Where do you wanna go?” Otabek asked from the bed as Yuri went back into the bathroom.</p><p>“Uh. Is there a Beijing here?” Yuri suggested as he fixed his hair, just pulling it back into a topknot. “Sesame chicken sounds good right now.”</p><p>“Okay.” Otabek replied. “We can take the motorcycle.”</p><p>“Yesss!” Yuri grinned.</p><p>“I’m keeping your shirt here by the way.”</p><p>Yuri smiled at that, “Okay. Don’t be surprised if you’re missing a sweatshirt then.”</p><p>“I’m never surprised when I’m missing clothes.” Otabek retorted, now leaning against the bathroom doorway.</p><p>“Well good. Cause I’m gonna be constantly stealing clothes from you from now on.” Yuri announced. “Now that I can’t just see you every day.”</p><p>Otabek sidled up behind him with warm hands on his waist and looked at them in the mirror above the sink, nuzzling into Yuri’s hair. “45 minutes.” he murmured. “Tell me you need me and I’ll drop everything. I promise.”</p><p>Yuri smiled at their reflection and covered Otabek’s hands with his own. “I love you.”</p><p>“I love you too.” Otabek kissed the top of his head and squeezed his waist before letting him go. Yuri bit his lip before wetting his toothbrush and brushing his teeth.</p><p>He was sad to be leaving today, but Otabek always made him feel so… happy. And loved. He always knew just what to say to make everything feel better.</p><p> </p><p>~~~</p><p> </p><p>Otabek was a little less excited for college than he thought he would be. He’d always pictured going to college as… the next step in his life. A new chapter. More freedom, meeting new people, doing new things.</p><p>But… It didn’t feel like a new chapter. It just felt like more school. More school, except now he was away from Yuri. He was away from his family. He was alone. He’d even signed up for a single dorm.</p><p>He had driven Yuri back home, reluctantly. Both he and Yuri were saddened to be apart, so Yuri had ended up sitting with him on his motorcycle in the driveway for an hour before they finally said their goodbyes.</p><p>So there he stood, alone in his dorm at 10 o’clock at night. He had just stepped inside and he honestly didn’t know what to do with himself. All his stuff was there but it felt so… foreign. It didn’t feel like home. He was mildly comforted by Yuri’s lingering scent, but he knew it would fade soon. Everything was neat and organized, just how he liked it. Nothing was out of place, except his bed sheets and laptop, because he and Yuri were binge-watching The Office earlier.</p><p>He frowned as he sat down on his bed. He looked around the room for a few seconds before just taking out his phone and texting Yuri. He always knew what to do.</p><p>O: i officially live by myself now<br/>O: idek what to do <br/>O: wtf<br/>Y: are you okay? :(<br/>O: im fine ig, just feels weird being alone now<br/>Y: im sorry :(<br/>Y: i wish i was there with you<br/>Y: i miss you<br/>Y: and love you<br/>O: i miss u too<br/>O: and love u too<br/>Y: dork &lt;3<br/>Y: are you all ready for class tomorrow?<br/>O: pretty much, i need to shower tho<br/>Y: you should do that tonight so you’re not rushed in the morning<br/>O: yeah :/<br/>O: ill text you in the morning<br/>O: i love you<br/>Y: love youuu &lt;3</p><p>Otabek sighed as he tossed his phone somewhere on his bed. Well, he supposed there was nothing else to do except shower and sleep. So he lazily undressed, making sure his door was definitely locked before taking his underwear off. He didn’t bother to wait until he got into the bathroom because he was alone and there was no one to tell him not to.</p><p>He took a long shower, just standing under the hot spray until his fingers pruned up. He was probably using up a lot of water, but he wasn’t thinking about that. He dried himself off and walked back into his room stark naked, feeling somewhat satisfied he could just do that now.</p><p>He threw on a pair of sweatpants and brushed his teeth before turning off the overhead light and getting in bed. He wasn’t exactly tired, but after a few strokes of his cock and the image of Yuri’s round lips in his mind, he slept like a brick.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. X</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was late October when Yuri finally convinced his grandpa to let him borrow the truck to visit Otabek. He felt sort of bad that Otabek had to be the one to make the drive every weekend, and he was also a little excited to spend more time in Otabek’s dorm. They wouldn’t have Yuri’s grandpa or Otabek’s family breathing down their necks.</p><p>Yuri couldn’t keep his excited smile off his face as he found a parking spot and texted Otabek he was here. He could see Otabek’s motorcycle parked in the back of the lot, away from anyone who might damage it. </p><p>He got out of the truck and locked the doors. He was wearing a cropped olive green sweater with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and high waisted black jeans tucked into black combat boots. He had a thin leather choker around his neck just because he knew how much Otabek liked it. They were sort of uncomfortable, but it was worth it to see Otabek’s reaction every time.</p><p>He saw Otabek stepping out of the main entrance, wearing black jeans and his signature leather jacket over a white tee shirt. He had a lanyard hanging out of his pocket and his phone in one hand, but he put it away once he saw Yuri.</p><p>Yuri picked up the pace, practically running. Otabek leaned down to embrace him as he threw his arms around his boyfriend, breathing in his scent and feeling relief that he was back in his alpha’s arms wash over him.</p><p>“I missed you!” Yuri smiled, baring his neck as Otabek scented him, tightening his arms around Yuri’s waist.</p><p>“I missed you too, baby.” Otabek murmured, pulling back just enough to catch his lips in a kiss. Yuri hummed into it, arching his back as Otabek’s hands slid down to squeeze his ass and up the back of his shirt.</p><p>“We should go inside.” Yuri suggested breathlessly, though he couldn’t resist one more kiss before gently nudging Otabek towards the door. </p><p>“Okay, okay.” Otabek chuckled, leading him by the hand into the building. “How was the drive? Any tipped over semis today?”</p><p>Yuri huffed a laugh, “No, but some guy was riding my ass the whole way.”</p><p>“Oh no.” Otabek cooed, smacking his ass and making him yelp as they got into the elevator.</p><p>“Don’t be a dick.” Yuri laughed, slapping his arm. </p><p>“I’m a simple guy! I see an ass and I slap.” Otabek smiled like a dork.</p><p>“Don’t quote Markiplier you nerd!” Yuri laughed.</p><p>“You love me.” Otabek smirked and reeled him in by his belt loops, inhaling his flowery scent deeply and burying his face in his omega’s neck. </p><p>“Yeah.” Yuri breathed, bringing one hand up to feel the short hairs on the back of Otabek’s head, his alpha’s hands settling on the curve of his waist.</p><p>When the elevator doors opened, Otabek lead him through the hallway towards his dorm room. They passed the community kitchen and sitting room on the way, and a few people inside yelled hasty greetings to Otabek as they passed.</p><p>Otabek only waved back lazily, and Yuri sent a shy smile to them. Were those Otabek’s new friends? Would he ever get to meet them? He hoped so, but he didn’t want to push it by asking.</p><p>Otabek’s door was now decorated with a white board, which had some silly multi-colored doodles on it, and a few random stickers that Yuri could tell were put on the door by someone else. Otabek liked to have everything clean, orderly, and nice looking. Even the posters on his wall had to be measured to the centimeter to make sure they were perfectly aligned.</p><p>“The RA wanted to make the hallways a little less bland.” Otabek explained as he opened his door, having noticed Yuri looking at the stickers. “I took them off but she just put even more on a day later.”</p><p>“Of course you did.” Yuri smiled as he shut the door behind him, secretly smug that he was right. </p><p>Otabek’s room was almost exactly the same as it was when he visited before. Only, the desk had significantly more papers on it, he’d invested in a laundry hamper, and there were a few framed or polaroid photos hanging on his wall. Some of them were family, some of them were group shots of all of their friends in high school, and some were of himself and Yuri. On his bed sat several pillows, all stuffed inside some of Yuri’s shirts.</p><p>He bit his lip and went to pick one of them up. Sure enough, it smelled faintly of himself, but a lot more like Otabek. He couldn’t keep the smile off his face as he thought about Otabek cuddling with these pillows at night. He loved the idea of anyone coming into Otabek’s dorm and immediately knowing he had an omega at home. That there was no way anyone could mistake him as single once they saw the pictures and his bed. </p><p>And he loved that Otabek cared about him so much that he became a prominent part of his bedroom. So no matter where Otabek was in the room, he could see Yuri’s face without even having to get up.</p><p>He put the pillow back on the bed and turned his head to see Otabek giving him a flustered half smile because he’d been caught. It was barely there but Yuri had gotten good at deciphering Otabek’s expressions. Yuri leaned up on his toes and kissed Otabek’s lips, still unable to wipe the smile off his face “I love you.” he breathed, holding Otabek’s face as he felt his alpha’s hands rest on his waist.</p><p>Otabek pressed their foreheads together, and brushed their noses. “I love you too.” he whispered. Yuri’s eyes were closed but he could hear the smile in Otabek’s tone.</p><p>“I brought some replacements for you.” Yuri said, pulling away and taking his backpack off. It wasn’t his school bag, but one he’d had forever that he used whenever he spent the night somewhere. He set it on the bed and started pulling out his scented shirts, which he had stored in a different pocket than his clean ones.</p><p>“Will I get to take ‘em off you?” Otabek asked suggestively, wiggling his eyebrows and resting his hands on Yuri’s hips from behind and pulling Yuri’s body flush with his.</p><p>“Obviously.” Yuri mumbled, blushing a little at the thought. He leaned his head back to rest on Otabek’s shoulder, hands ghosting over Otabek’s. “What are we doing tonight?”</p><p>“Nothing tonight. But, tomorrow, I’m gonna take you out to Winifred’s.” Otabek smirked, because he knew how much Yuri loved the restaurant. Yuri’s face lit up because Winifred’s was pretty expensive so he didn’t get to go often.</p><p>“You sure you shouldn’t save that for next week?” Yuri asked, though it was obvious he was excited now.</p><p>“Actually… I have something else planned for our anniversary.” Otabek muttered. Yuri noticed, out of the corner of his eye, his face getting a little red and he couldn’t help but wonder what it was.</p><p>“You spoil me.” Yuri smiled, biting his lip.</p><p>“What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn’t spoil you?” Otabek murmured, leaning down and rubbing his cheek on Yuri’s neck and nuzzling into his soft hair. His hands slid up the front of Yuri’s shirt, feeling his warm skin and holding him tight against his chest.</p><p>“I’m guessing you won’t tell me what it is?” Yuri smiled, biting his lip. He reached up behind him and ran his fingers through the longer part of Otabek’s hair, arching his back into the older boy’s body.</p><p>“Nope. You’ll be in suspense all week.” Otabek teased.</p><p>“Will it top last year’s horror marathon?” Yuri grinned. Last year, they had rented a bunch of horror movies and played horror games, only stopping to go out to eat at Winifred’s. They had stayed up until morning, but it was one of the fondest memories Yuri ever had.</p><p>“Hmm.” Otabek hummed. “It’s not much but… I certainly hope so.”</p><p>“...You know... you don’t have to do anything special…” Yuri said softly. “I’d be happy with anything.”</p><p>“I know, baby.” Otabek murmured, tightening his arms around his omega. “But I want it to be special.”</p><p>“Okay… I just don’t want you to stress out about it…” Yuri smiled, running his finger tips over Otabek’s jawline. His skin was smooth, so he must have shaved that morning. Yuri knew Otabek’s facial hair grew like crazy.</p><p>“I’m not stressed. I just… really want you to like it.” he said, and kissed Yuri’s neck sweetly.</p><p>“I’m sure I will. I love you.” Yuri assured him. It was somewhat rare for Otabek to show insecurity like this.</p><p>“I love you too.” Otabek said.</p><p>Timidly, Yuri turned them and pushed Otabek’s chest lightly until he got the idea and laid back on the bed. Yuri bit his lip and climbed over him, knees spread on either side of Otabek’s hips. Hands caressed his denim clad thighs as he leaned down to kiss his boyfriend. It was all tongue and teeth, messy but passionate.</p><p>“I missed you.” Yuri breathed between urgent kisses.</p><p>“I missed you.” Otabek murmured, planting his feet flat on the floor and suddenly thrusting upwards, making Yuri’s entire body move with the force of it. Yuri gasped as he felt how hard Otabek was in his jeans.</p><p>“Can feel that…” he giggled, grinding his hips down against him. Otabek’s hands were roaming under his shirt and unbuttoning his jeans. Yuri arched his back as he pulled his sweater up over his head, letting it fall somewhere behind him. His hair fell back messily over his shoulders.</p><p>He unzipped Otabek’s pants, not breaking their kiss as he freed his alpha’s cock. He stroked it, making long movements and twisting his wrist just how he knew Otabek liked. “Ohh babe…” Otabek groaned, thrusting up into Yuri’s hand.</p><p>Yuri kissed down his neck and chest, slowly lowering himself until his bony knees hit the carpeted floor. He nosed at fabric of Otabek’s shirt, rucking it up until he got the idea and took it off. He lifted his hips to allow Yuri to pull off his pants and boxers. He settled between Otabek’s legs and gave a little kitten lick to the tip. Otabek was looking down at him with intense eyes, clouded with want.</p><p>But Yuri took his time now, slowing his strokes and only using the tip of his tongue on Otabek’s throbbing cock. “You know, I was thinking...” Yuri bit his lip. “Should I get a tongue piercing?” </p><p>“God yes.” Otabek moaned, as he flattened his tongue over the slit.</p><p>“Maybe for your birthday?” Yuri breathed, but Otabek didn’t have an opportunity to respond other than a badly stifled grunt as Yuri took him fully into his mouth. A hand tangled in Yuri’s hair, pushing and pulling his head up and down.</p><p>Yuri let him take control now, fucking Yuri’s mouth as he pleased. He could feel Otabek’s cock hitting the back of his throat every couple seconds. Yuri relaxed his jaw and throat, and he was thankful he was an omega because he knew he would’ve started gagging by now if he wasn’t.</p><p>He moaned around Otabek’s cock, and the alpha groaned at the vibrations. He looked up at his alpha through his eyelashes to see that his mouth was hanging open, head thrown back with pleasure. They made eye contact just as the first tears were slipping down Yuri’s flushed cheeks.</p><p>Suddenly, Otabek pulled his hair a little harder, yanking him up and off of his dick. Yuri barely got a chance to suck in another breath before he was being pulled into a searing hot kiss.</p><p>“You look so pretty when you cry.” Otabek murmured lowly, shoving Yuri’s jeans and underwear down and pulling him into his lap.</p><p>“You’re so weird…” Yuri giggled, his voice a little hoarse from deepthroating. Yuri felt two fingers slide into him as he stroked Otabek’s cock. “How do you want me?” </p><p>“Just like this, baby. Ride me.” Otabek murmured, adding another finger. Yuri keened and ground his hips down onto Otabek’s fingers until Otabek pulled his hand back. Yuri leaned forward with hands braced on either side of Otabek’s head, leaning down and kissing his lips messily.</p><p>Otabek let out a breath and positioned his cock at Yuri’s entrance. He slowly pulled Yuri down onto him with hands on his hips. Yuri let out a breathy moan as he engulfed Otabek fully. He gave himself a few seconds before he began moving. Otabek’s hands guided him as he lifted himself up and let gravity pull him back down.</p><p>Otabek met him in the middle, thrusting up as Yuri was grinding down. All he could hear was their moans and the sound of skin slapping skin, echoing through the small room. It wasn’t long before Yuri’s thighs were starting to shake with effort but he didn’t stop rocking in Otabek’s lap.</p><p>Otabek must have sensed it though, because he wrapped an arm around Yuri’s body and carefully flipped them so Yuri was on his back. Yuri whined and pouted because he definitely could have kept going, but Otabek shushed him with another kiss and a smirk as he hooked one of Yuri’s legs over his arm, allowing him to thrust deeper because of the new angle.</p><p>Yuri whimpered and writhed beneath him as the control he’d had when he was on top was taken from him. Otabek set the pace now, and Yuri was at his mercy. The best he could do was hold onto Otabek’s shoulders tight.</p><p>He felt Otabek’s knot expanding inside of him, and felt the burn as it stretched his rim. “Ahh…”</p><p>The heat in his groin was building with every thrust, radiating in waves through his limbs. His nails scraped up Otabek’s back, leaving harsh red lines in groups of five. He could feel Otabek nuzzling into his neck, scenting him, kissing and leaving love bites.</p><p>Yuri loved them. He had long ago stopped hiding them, except for work. His grandpa knew what they got up to, and he was glad to show off at school, the fact that he was taken. They were a physical reminder to him, even after days of being apart from his alpha.</p><p>Within minutes, Yuri was being overwhelmed. Every nerve was charged with electricity, his fingers felt numb, his body rigid, gripping Otabek and leaving crescent shaped indents on his back. His thighs were trembling and Otabek was holding them apart with an iron grip, still rocking into him.</p><p>Not long after Yuri, Otabek’s hips stuttered and Yuri felt it when he came. Otabek grunted hotly in his ear with a few last shallow thrusts before he stilled. He dropped his head down to rest in the crook of Yuri’s neck, laying down right on top of the omega.</p><p>“I wanted to do that all week, baby.” Otabek murmured into his neck.</p><p>Yuri bit his lip, “You’re insatiable.”</p><p>“Mh.” Otabek hummed, picking his head up and kissing Yuri’s lips sweetly. “I love you.”</p><p>“Love you too.” Yuri smiled, laying back and letting his eyes close.</p><p> </p><p>~~~</p><p>Otabek had been browsing through his Instagram feed when someone knocked on his door. He was still naked in bed with an equally naked Yuri, Yuri’s head resting heavy on his arm, back pressed to Otabek’s chest. Natural morning light seeped into the room through the curtains, casting everything in a gray tint.</p><p>He groaned and untangled himself from Yuri, tossing his phone on the nightstand. He reluctantly put on a pair of sweatpants, not bothering to find some clean underwear yet. He checked to make sure his dick wasn’t too terribly visible, just hanging loose down his left pant leg, before he opened the door with a frown, squinting his eyes as the bright fluorescent light from the hallway shown into his room.</p><p>“Hey Leo.” he grunted, wiping his eyes blearily as he leaned against the door frame.</p><p>“...Hey.” Leo smirked, looking past him into the room. Otabek followed his gaze to where Yuri laid on his bed, still peacefully asleep. Yuri’s back was to them, and the blanket only covered his waist and below, revealing his slender shoulders and petite frame. The omega had messy sex hair and dark marks all over his neck and back, contrasting harshly with his pale skin. Only Otabek knew there were bruises like hand prints on his hips and ass from multiple rounds last night. “Is this the famous Yuri we keep hearing about?”</p><p>“Off limits.” he growled, narrowing his eyes and crossing his arms. He was instantly more awake.</p><p>“Alright, alright.” Leo shrugged and held his hands up, though his eyes lingered on Yuri for a moment longer. “I need the notes I missed in Euro on Thursday.”</p><p>“Of course you do.” Otabek rolled his eyes, walking over to his desk and rummaging through his backpack.</p><p>“Thank you~.” Leo grinned. Otabek barely held in another growl when Leo stepped further into the room, his eyes on Yuri with a sleazy expression on his face.</p><p>“Back the fuck off, man.” he warned, venomously, dropping his heavy bag onto his desk and making a loud thunk sound. Yuri let out a little whine at the noise and burrowed deeper into the blanket, and Otabek could see Leo’s eyes following every movement of his back muscles as he shifted.</p><p>“Relax. I’m just looking.” Leo said, his voice quiet and slightly mocking.</p><p>“Leo...” Otabek muttered, putting himself between his omega and Leo and getting in his face. “I don’t care if you’re ‘just looking.’ Back the fuck up.”</p><p>Leo sighed, “Fine.” and waited by the door. Otabek glared at him as he rifled through his bag, and handed him his notebook forcefully.</p><p>“Just give it back before next Thursday.” he scowled. </p><p>“Will do.” Leo grimaced, and Otabek shut the door in his face, plunging the room back into darkness. He exhaled loudly and sat down heavily on the bed, pinching the bridge of his nose.</p><p>“...Beka?” Yuri spoke softly.</p><p>He turned and gazed down at his boyfriend, who was now awake. He had turned his upper body and craned his neck to look at Otabek. “Yeah?”</p><p>“Come here.” he breathed. </p><p>Otabek sighed and laid down, guiding Yuri’s head to lay on his bicep, wrapping his other arm around his omega’s lithe body. Yuri curled into him, nuzzling into his neck. </p><p>“Who was that?” Yuri whispered.</p><p>“You were awake?”</p><p>“You banged on something. It woke me up.” he explained bashfully. </p><p>“Mh. Leo’s a guy in my European history class. He lives down the hall.” Otabek said. He didn’t want to talk about Leo anymore. Just the thought of another alpha being interested in Yuri made his temper flare. He yanked Yuri closer by a hand on his ass.</p><p>“I’m still sore, you asshole.” Yuri whined, but didn’t protest as Otabek gently pushed him onto his back, massaging his ass and the back of his thigh in an effort to soothe him.</p><p>“Mine.” Otabek growled, and Yuri’s breath hitched at his tone. He bared his neck as Otabek scented him, possessively.</p><p>“Yours,” Yuri breathed, bringing a hand up to cradle the back of his alpha’s head. “Obviously.”</p><p>“Apparently it’s not obvious enough for some people.” Otabek muttered as he began kissing at his omega’s neck and collarbones, feeling up every inch of Yuri’s skin.</p><p>“Beka… I can’t…” he breathed, and his breath hitched again when Otabek bit down on his already abused scent gland.</p><p>“Hm?” Otabek hummed as he spread his omega’s smooth thighs.</p><p>“Seriously… Beka.” Yuri frowned, pushing his chest away and keeping his knees together. “Stop it…”</p><p>Otabek pulled back and immediately felt bad that he’d pushed his omega too far. He should’ve been able to tell right away from his scent that he wasn’t into it… But he was so distracted by the thought of another alpha liking his omega that he completely ignored it… He could tell now that he was paying attention, Yuri’s scent was still sweet, but also a little sour and bitter.</p><p>“...I’m sorry.” Yuri breathed, just as Otabek was about to apologize.</p><p>“It’s okay, baby.” Otabek murmured, planting a chaste kiss to Yuri’s forehead. “I’m sorry.”</p><p>“No, it’s okay!” Yuri reassured him, his expression turning guilty. “I- ...If you really want to... we can-”</p><p>“No, no.” Otabek interrupted. “It’s okay, Yura.”</p><p>“Mh…” Yuri hummed, frowning. He was obviously not convinced.</p><p>“Yura… I promise, I’m not upset.” he said, holding Yuri’s cheek gently. “I’m glad you told me to stop, instead of just… letting me keep going.”</p><p>Yuri leaned into his touch, nodding slowly. “Okay…” he breathed.</p><p>“...Is there a particular reason you don’t want to? Or… are you just, not in the mood?” Otabek asked, hesitantly.</p><p>“I’m just sore right now, that’s all.” Yuri mumbled, resting his cheek on Otabek’s bicep again and letting his eyes flutter closed.</p><p>“I’m sorry, baby.” Otabek whispered, nuzzling into Yuri’s hair. Otabek’s arms tightened around Yuri, and he started massaging Yuri’s lower back and hips. He’d read somewhere that it helped soothe achiness after anal sex, but he wasn’t really sure until Yuri let out a sigh of relief.</p><p>“That feels good…” he moaned, and Otabek could tell he was close to falling back asleep. He smiled softly, though Yuri couldn’t see it, and continued his movements.</p><p>“Love you.” Otabek murmured into his hair, after a couple minutes. Yuri’s body was limp in his arms, and his breathing was even against Otabek’s neck.</p><p>“Love you too…” Yuri mumbled, lazily. Otabek smiled again because he could barely make out the words as Yuri was practically asleep already.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. XI</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Otabek smiled when he heard the knock on his bedroom door. It was Yuri, of course. He’d just received a text saying he was here and on his way up.</p><p>Otabek hopped off his bed and took a deep breath. He had decorated the room for Halloween and he really hoped Yuri liked it, and that he wouldn’t just look dumb for putting in the effort. He had strung up orange and green fairy lights along the ceiling, and taped little bat cut outs to his bookshelf. It wasn’t much, but the lights gave the whole room a dark glow.</p><p>He opened the door and greeted Yuri with a hug and a kiss, before pulling him inside. “Woah!” Yuri grinned, eyes taking in the decorations. “Spooky.”</p><p>“Thanks. I tried.” Otabek said. Yuri kicked off his shoes and dropped his bag on the floor. He flopped down onto the mattress and inhaled Otabek’s scent shamelessly. Otabek was watching him with a fond smile as he made himself at home in Otabek’s bed.</p><p>“I missed you…” Yuri whined, pouting at him from across the small room.</p><p>Otabek smiled and laid down beside his boyfriend, letting Yuri curl into his chest. “I missed you too, baby.”</p><p>“This week was so long… You’re all I could think about.” Yuri continued, starting to play with Otabek’s fingers.</p><p>“Mh.” Otabek agreed. “It was the same for me.”</p><p>“So.” Yuri started, eyes bright. “Will you tell me what we’re doing?”</p><p>“Mmh. Nope.” Otabek answered. Yuri pouted and lightly shoved his shoulder, but he just laughed. “You like surprises. You don’t really want me to tell you.”</p><p>“...Maybe.” Yuri conceded, averting his eyes with a small smile. “You know me too well.”</p><p>Otabek just chuckled and leaned over him, kissing his lips softly. Yuri brought a hand to his neck as he leaned their foreheads together. “I love you.”</p><p>“I love you too.” Yuri giggled. “It’s not our anniversary until tomorrow.”</p><p>“Mhm. I figured we could watch Halloween movies tonight. Order pizza or something. I bought candy.” Otabek murmured, gesturing towards his desk, which had a plastic bag full of all their favorite candy.</p><p>“Yesss.” Yuri moaned. “You’re amazing.”</p><p>Otabek smiled and let his head drop to rest on Yuri’s shoulder. “Mhm. I think you’ll like tomorrow.”</p><p>“I know I will.” Yuri replied, stroking his fingers through Otabek’s hair. “I got you a little somethin’ too.”</p><p>“Oh? You don’t have to do that baby.” Otabek murmured, but he was smiling into Yuri’s neck.</p><p>“I don’t have to do anything.” Yuri replied, sassy as always. “I wanted to. Besides… you’re always doing stuff for me and… buying me stuff… I wanted to do something for you.”</p><p>“Well, I’m looking forward to it.” Otabek smiled and kissed Yuri’s cheek. “Pick something for us to watch and I’ll order food.”</p><p>~~~</p><p>The restaurant Otabek had chosen wasn’t Winifred’s, but he hoped Yuri would like it anyway. It was an expensive Italian restaurant which he hoped Yuri had never heard of before. He’d gone there once with his family and thought it was amazing, so he hoped it hadn’t gotten any worse. Judging by the line of people waiting just inside, it was still as good as he remembered.</p><p>“Oh wow.” Yuri breathed as Otabek parked his motorcycle. He turned the key and got off after Yuri, locking Yuri’s helmet in the back compartment. “You didn’t have to do this. This looks so expensive…”</p><p>Otabek smiled and grabbed his hand. He could tell Yuri was pleased because there was a smile plastered on his face. “It’s not too bad.” he said, even though it really was. He wasn’t looking forward to spending half his paycheck here, but he supposed if it was for his anniversary it was worth it.</p><p>Yuri couldn’t contain his smile as Otabek led them inside and right up to the podium, passing a couple groups of people who were waiting. The restaurant was extravagant, high ceilings and dark wood paneling. There were chandeliers and old sculptures on display.</p><p>He could tell Yuri liked it. Once they were seated, he kept looking around the room at the art hanging from the walls. He was looking at the walls more than he was looking at the menu, so when the waiter came and asked if they were ready, they had to ask for a few minutes.</p><p>They talked about anything and everything until their food came, and then they were too busy gawking at how good it was to talk about anything else.</p><p>Otabek was growing nervous as they ate, and he wondered if he should let Yuri finish his food before he started, but decided against it.</p><p>“So.” he started, laying his silverware down and sitting up straighter. </p><p>Yuri did the same, and tilted his head in curiosity as he gave him his full attention. The soft piano music playing in the restaurant suddenly seemed too loud, and his mind was blanking. He’d thought for hours how he should do this, but none of it was coming to him.</p><p>“I’m… not sure if you’ll be super into it, but, uh, I got us something.” he said. His voice was unsure, and he really hoped Yuri would like it.” It’s not a wedding ring or anything but, I thought… Ah, well, I’ll just…”</p><p>He reached into the pocket of his coat and pulled out a little white box. “Oh God, what is that?” Yuri asked giddily. When Otabek looked at him, he was beaming with a hand covering his mouth as he leaned forward on the table. Otabek couldn’t help smiling softly back.</p><p>“I don’t know if this seems a little immature or something,” he gulped, “but I… got us promise rings.” He opened the box and reached halfway across the table to show Yuri. They weren’t anything super flashy, just two identical black rings. They were both pure Tungsten with little grooves lining the sides. One was noticeably bigger than the other. He’d used one of Yuri’s rings for reference and hoped he had gotten the size right.</p><p>“Oh my God…” Yuri breathed. “I love this, Beka.”</p><p>Otabek let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding in, and took the smaller ring out of the box. He slid it onto Yuri’s left ring finger before putting on his own. He was relieved they both seemed to fit.</p><p>“Happy Anniversary, Yura.” he smiled, holding Yuri’s right hand as he gawked over the ring.</p><p>“I love you.” Yuri said, squeezing his hand. His face and scent gave away that he was completely genuine. “This definitely tops last year.”</p><p>“I hope so. And I love you too.” Otabek said.</p><p>“Well,” Yuri said, pulling back his hands. “I got something for you too.”</p><p>“Oh yeah?” Otabek looked at him with interest.</p><p>Yuri gave him a badly suppressed smirk and opened his wallet under the table. After a couple seconds, he handed over two slips of paper that Otabek realized were concert tickets. He flipped them over.</p><p>“Metallica?” Otabek read. His face was starting to hurt because of how widely he was smiling. He almost couldn’t believe his eyes. Metallica concerts were crazy hard to get into. Yuri must have bought these tickets as soon as they went on sale. He couldn’t imagine how expensive they must have been.</p><p>“It’s your favorite band.” Yuri said proudly. Otabek only sat there for a second before he was standing and pulling Yuri into a bone-crushing hug. Yuri threw his arms around Otabek’s neck and giggled in his ear. It was the most amazing sound Otabek had ever heard.</p><p>“I love you.” he said, burying his face Yuri’s neck.</p><p>“I love you too.” Yuri said as they pulled away and sat back down.</p><p>For the rest of dinner, Otabek couldn’t stop looking at the tickets and Yuri couldn’t stop looking at their rings. By the time the check came, they were both content with their second anniversary, unable to keep the smiles off their faces the entire night.</p><p>“Holy shit.” Yuri gasped as he looked at the bill for their meal. Otabek just smiled and took it from him. “That’s so much!”</p><p>“It’s alright. Food was good.” Otabek said, signing the receipt and putting his card down for the waiter to take.</p><p>“Still, jeez.” Yuri reached across the table and took his hand again. He played with Otabek’s fingers until the waiter returned with Otabek’s card.</p><p>The drive back to Otabek’s dorm was peaceful despite the noise of the highway. There was wind on his face and Yuri’s body pressed up against his back.</p><p>He parked near the back of the parking lot as always, and walked with an arm wrapped around Yuri’s back. Thankfully, they managed to avoid everyone gathered in the dormitory’s kitchen on the bottom floor and went straight into Otabek’s room, making sure to lock it behind them.</p><p>He knew his friends were impatiently waiting for him to introduce Yuri to them, especially after Leo had seen a glimpse of him earlier in the year. They’d just have to wait longer, if he introduced them at all. He really doubted Yuri would like them anyway.</p><p>His room still glowed orange and green because of the lights he’d put up the day before. The room was dimly lit by the string lights, bright enough to see but not too bright. They kicked off their shoes and shrugged off their coats before their hands found each other.</p><p>“You have a good time today, baby?” Otabek asked, reeling Yuri in by his belt loops until their bodies were flush against each other.</p><p>Yuri beamed up at him, “Of course. It was with you.” Otabek couldn’t help but smile at how cheesy that statement was, and he kissed Yuri to hide it.</p><p>“You gonna let me take you tonight?” Otabek asked quietly, sliding his hands down Yuri’s sides and squeezing his ass.</p><p>Yuri gasped softly, “You could do whatever you want.”</p><p>“You sure you should be saying things like that?” Otabek smirked, and leaned down to kiss and nip at Yuri’s neck. He stretched his head to the side and let out a breathy moan as Otabek bit down on his scent gland, not hard enough to break skin or even bruise, but enough for Yuri to feel the rushing pheromones.</p><p>“You’re always so gentle and thoughtful.” Yuri said. “I know you won’t hurt me.”</p><p>“What do you want tonight?” Otabek asked, hands roaming all over Yuri’s skin.</p><p>Yuri hummed as he considered. “Make love to me.” he said.</p><p>Otabek couldn’t help but smile. A year ago, he never would’ve said anything as bold as that for fear of sounding stupid. “I think I can do that.” Otabek murmured, and started walking Yuri backwards until the backs of his knees hit the bed. They fell onto the sheets, which were unmade and smelled like their combined scent.</p><p>“A-and…” Yuri said, his voice wavering with uncertainty. Otabek could smell the nervousness in his scent. “Were you… serious about bonding me?”</p><p>Otabek pulled back slightly, just enough to see Yuri’s face. He was biting his lip and looking off to the side, his cheeks flushed and hair somehow already messy. “Do you really want to?” Otabek asked in all seriousness. He didn’t want Yuri to regret it.</p><p>“I…” Yuri gulped, “Yeah. I have for a while…”</p><p>Otabek smiled and nosed at Yuri’s jawline. “Then of course.” he said simply. It seemed those few words put Yuri at ease. His shoulders practically deflated and he breathed a sigh of relief.</p><p>Otabek hovered over him, one hand planted beside his head and the other caressing his hip lovingly as they kissed. It was open-mouthed and slow, leaving their lips tingling when Otabek trailed kisses down Yuri’s jawline and neck.</p><p>“I love you.” Yuri whispered, baring his neck and letting his eyes flutter shut. </p><p>“I love you.” Otabek said, leaving one last kiss on his throat before he tugged Yuri’s sweater off of him, tossing it somewhere behind them.</p><p>Yuri laid back against the pillow with his hands pulling at his own hair as Otabek kissed down his chest, leaving little bruises and love bites as he went and reveling in the soft whimpers Yuri let out. His skin was warm and looked almost translucent in the dim glow of Otabek’s Halloween lights. Otabek chucked his own shirt off before working to unbutton Yuri’s jeans.</p><p>He let those land wherever they wanted in his room, unable to take his eyes off his boyfriend, who was laid out before him in only his underwear. Yuri was looking down at him through his eyelashes with doe eyes. Otabek only pulled away for a second to unbuckle his belt, taking satisfaction in the way Yuri’s eyes followed his fingers. He kicked off his pants and underwear, leaving him completely nude, before crawling back over his omega.</p><p>Yuri let him slide his underwear down his lithe legs. He was already soaking wet, and the scent hit Otabek like a train. He inhaled deeply, “Oh fuck…” Otabek moaned. “You smell so good baby…” He buried his face in Yuri’s neck and spread Yuri’s thighs.</p><p>“You too...” he breathed.</p><p>Otabek’s cock twitched and he couldn’t hold in a long groan as Yuri reached down to pump him. He circled a finger around Yuri’s wet hole for a moment before pressing in, and deciding he was ready for two fingers because of how slick he was.</p><p>“Ohh…” Yuri moaned when Otabek hooked his fingers. He took pride in getting to Yuri’s spot on the first try. The sounds Yuri was making made it nearly impossible for him to resist going down on him again, hooking one of Yuri’s legs over his shoulder.</p><p>Yuri’s slick tasted just as good as it always has. It was sweet and musky and undeniably Yuri. Otabek loved it. He was licking and sucking at Yuri’s skin as he fingered the omega, leaving love bites on his pale thighs and bony hips. He growled, deep in his throat and possessive, coming from the most primal part of him.</p><p>“Beka…” Yuri whined, pulling his hair. Otabek crawled back up his body and muffled his moans with his mouth.</p><p>“You ready baby?” he asked, though he was sure even if Yuri wasn’t ready he would’ve said yes.</p><p>“Please…” Yuri breathed between kisses, wrapping both his arms around Otabek’s neck and spreading his thighs wider as the head of Otabek’s cock nudged his hole.</p><p>“I got you.” Otabek murmured as he pushed in. He was sure to go slow, using all of his self control not to start pounding his pretty omega into the mattress. “You’re doing so good for me, baby.” Yuri keened and threw his head back against the pillow, arching his back.</p><p>Yuri was tight and hot and wet around his cock, and he started thrusting shallowly, unable to stop himself. Yuri moaned, and he took it as a good sign. After a minute, Yuri was so wet there was hardly any burn as he pushed in deeper.</p><p>“You’re so fucking perfect. So sexy like this, Yura.” Otabek grunted in his ear as he started moving faster, spurred on by the strangled sound Yuri let out at the praise. He was holding Yuri’s hips with an iron grip, trying to moderate himself and not hurt his omega. He didn’t think he would forgive himself if he did.</p><p>“M-More…” Yuri breathed, and Otabek didn’t need to be told twice. He braced his knees on the bed and pulled out all the way before sliding back in. He watched as his nine inches disappeared fully inside as Yuri took him so well. Heat was building in his groin and he started pounding into Yuri hard and fast and deep. The headboard was slamming into the wall every other second and he knew his neighbors must be able to hear them, but he didn’t care.</p><p>Yuri came with a high-pitched moan and Otabek could feel himself swelling. “You gonna take my knot baby?” Otabek whispered hotly in his ear. Yuri nodded and whimpered, tightening his arms around Otabek’s neck. He bared his neck again and pulled Otabek’s face toward it. Otabek knew what he meant by it, and started biting softly at his throat.</p><p>It was another minute before Otabek was coming inside his omega, his knot buried deep inside. He bit down on Yuri’s jugular just as the last wave of pleasure washed over him, and his mouth came away bloody. The omega keened out so loud he wondered if the neighbors would think something was wrong, but he didn’t think too much about it. He was still thrusting slowly and shallowly, licking at Yuri’s neck to nurse the wound until it stopped bleeding.</p><p>“Fuck…” Yuri breathed when Otabek finally stopped thrusting inside him. They were locked together, so Otabek shifted his weight so he wasn’t crushing Yuri and laid down on top of him. </p><p>He looked down at Yuri’s face. The omega looked absolutely wrecked. He was flushed bright red, skin hot to the touch. His hair was messy and he was crying, but he looked completely at ease. His scent was content and told Otabek he was happy.</p><p>“You okay, baby?”</p><p>“Mh yeah.” Yuri smiled softly, eyes closed. “Just tired…”</p><p>“Go to sleep.” Otabek murmured. “I’ll take care of you.”</p><p>“Love you…”</p><p>“I love you too.” Otabek nuzzled into his neck. “Happy anniversary, Yura.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. XII</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Beka.” Otabek heard from behind him. He was sitting at his desk in his dorm, bent over his laptop working on a paper that was due on Monday that he’d been putting off for a week. He was probably only about an hour or two away from finishing it and he honestly just wanted to be done with it. It had been lurking in the back of his mind for days.</p><p>“Hm.” Otabek hummed, not taking any attention away from the papers currently in front of him. </p><p>Yuri sighed, “Beka.” </p><p>“Baby I’m a little busy.” Otabek dismissed, just as the perfect word he’d been looking for came to mind.</p><p>“You’ve been a little busy for a while…” Yuri frowned, and Otabek could hear him shuffling around on the bed.</p><p>“I need to get this done.” Otabek stressed, his voice growing defensive and irritated.</p><p>“You’re the one who wanted me to come over today.” Yuri reminded him, and Otabek could hear the hurt in his voice. While Otabek hated to hear Yuri sounding so sad he really had to finish this.</p><p>“I know. I didn’t think it would take this long. Please, just let me concentrate on this.” Otabek said, squeezing his temples and leaning on his elbows.</p><p>“It’s been hours. You should take a break anyway.”</p><p>“Yuri, I need to get this done!” Otabek growled, though he immediately regretted it when Yuri gasped and his scent soured considerably.</p><p>“Fine.” Yuri said darkly, his face hardening into a glare “I’ll leave you to it, then.” He crawled off the bed, shoving his shoes on and grabbing his bag off the floor. He hadn’t opened it since he arrived, patiently waiting hours for his alpha to finish his assignment.</p><p>“Baby…” Otabek started, finally turning away from his laptop in the swivel chair.</p><p>“No, it’s fine. I don’t even know why I came over today…” Yuri muttered, and stormed out of his dorm. He hadn’t even slammed the door, just let it slowly creak shut. Otabek didn’t know whether it was out of regard for his neighbors or if Yuri just wanted to leave as fast as he could.</p><p>Otabek sat, dumbly, in his chair for a second, before jumping up and chasing after his omega. “Yuri, come on.” he pleaded as he followed a hurt Yuri down the hallway. “Don’t leave.”</p><p>Yuri scoffed, “Why would I stay? If you’re just gonna ignore me the whole time. I could’ve taken a shift today. Or visited Mila. But no, I chose to waste six hours of my day waiting for you while you ignored me.”</p><p>“Please, baby. I’m sorry.” he frowned, catching one of Yuri’s wrists.</p><p>”Stop it…!” Yuri jerked his arm free before he grabbed it again, stopping him from walking any further. </p><p>Otabek frowned, gently but firmly wrapping his arms around him. Yuri was stiff in his arms but he’d stopped walking. “I’m sorry, baby… Please don’t leave.”</p><p>Yuri sighed in frustration, “You have to finish your paper and I’m just distracting you anyway.”</p><p>“No, no baby.” Otabek cooed, nuzzling into Yuri’s hair. “I... I’ll stop for tonight. You said I should take a break. I’ll just pick it back up tomorrow.”</p><p>Yuri shook his head. “You should just get it done… and we’ll talk tomorrow.” His voice was frail and so quiet Otabek barely heard him. His pretty face was red and he looked like he was about to start crying.</p><p>“I’ll make it up to you. I don’t want you to leave.” Otabek pleaded, squeezing his arms around Yuri’s waist. He was relieved when he felt Yuri leaning into his touch, though he was still not reciprocating the embrace. “Okay? We can watch that tattoo show you like. Ink Masters, right? And I’ll order us some food. We’ll have a picnic on my bed. Let me make it up to you.”</p><p>Yuri let out a shaky sigh and buried his face in Otabek’s chest, nodding his head slightly. Otabek felt insanely guilty as he felt a wet spot on his shirt. He’d made Yuri cry…</p><p>“I’m sorry…” Otabek whispered, holding his omega close. “I love you.”</p><p>“It’s okay… Love you too…” he mumbled.</p><p>“It’s not okay.” Otabek murmured into his hair. “I shouldn’t have ignored you like that. I just… I get so… fixated on things, sometimes. I’m sorry I… growled at you like that, baby.”</p><p>“It’s okay.” Yuri repeated monotonously. “I get it.”</p><p>“Let’s go back, okay?” Otabek murmured, and slowly started pulling him back to his dorm room. Yuri seemed too tired now to protest, so he just let Otabek lead him back. He closed the door behind them with a soft click as Yuri kicked his shoes off again and collapsed into his bed.</p><p>He quickly saved the document on his laptop and closed it before setting up the TV. Yuri was quiet as he waited for Otabek to join him on the bed, a frown on his face. His shoulders were hunched and Otabek could tell he was definitely still upset.</p><p>“You want sesame chicken, baby?” Otabek asked, more gently than the question itself warranted. </p><p>Yuri nodded silently and Otabek sat down on the edge of the bed to make the call. The lady on the other end had just picked up when he felt Yuri lean on him from behind, resting his cheek on his shoulder and fisting a hand in his shirt. He reached back and set a hand on Yuri’s thigh, hoping this meant he’d been forgiven.</p><p>When he ended the call, he set his phone on the nightstand and turned around. He guided Yuri in for a kiss and brushed his hair out of his face. “You gonna change into pajamas?”</p><p>“Yeah.” Yuri breathed, though he let Otabek cradle his face for another few seconds before crawling out of bed again. Otabek selected the show and didn’t bother to turn away while Yuri changed, though he made sure not to let Yuri see him blatantly checking him out.</p><p>Yuri changed into a tee shirt and shorts before crawling back into bed. He pulled the blanket over his legs and they got settled in to watch Ink Masters. He laid on Otabek’s chest as they curled up together and hit play. </p><p>The only light was the yellow lamp sitting on Otabek’s desk, which was perfect because it was just enough light to see by but it wasn’t so bright as to hurt their eyes.</p><p>Otabek wasn’t really watching the show. It wasn’t that it wasn’t interesting, just that he was a little preoccupied. He was thinking about their argument, about how close Yuri had been to leaving, and about how he had let himself get so single minded that he’d snapped and growled at him.</p><p>Most omegas didn’t mind the growling, and some even liked it, but Yuri was definitely not one of those people. Growing up in a household where he was constantly being yelled at and berated for even the smallest little thing… Otabek could see why he disliked it.</p><p>Just thinking about it, his arms tightened around Yuri’s waist and he nuzzled into his neck, trying to breath in as much of his omega’s familiar and soothing scent as possible. Yuri curled into him more in response, bringing a hand up to cradle the back of his head. “Are you okay?” Yuri asked, somewhat timidly. Subconsciously, Yuri’s scent grew in intensity now that he noticed Otabek’s clinginess.</p><p>Otabek smiled into his omega’s neck. How was he asking if Otabek was okay, after the argument they’d just had was entirely Otabek’s fault?</p><p>“Yeah. I just love you.” Otabek murmured, and kissed Yuri’s jaw.</p><p>“I love you too.” Yuri breathed, scratching his scalp lightly. “...I’m sorry I was gonna leave…”</p><p>“It’s okay.” he assured, scenting him. “I was being a dick.”</p><p>Yuri scoffed a laugh, “Little bit.”</p><p>“You’re not supposed to agree with me.” Otabek laughed, making Yuri giggle as he pulled him impossibly closer.</p><p>“You growled at me.” Yuri reminded him. “You know I hate that.”</p><p>Otabek sighed, “Yeah… I know. I… I’m not gonna say I won’t ever do it again but… I try not to, and I’ll try harder from now on, I promise.”</p><p>“It’s okay…” Yuri breathed. “I mean… I know a lot of other alphas from school that are much worse with growling…”</p><p>“I… try not to be.” Otabek frowned, tightening his arms around Yuri. “I’m sorry.” he repeated, nosing at Yuri’s bared neck.</p><p>“It’s okay.” Yuri cooed, and his scent told Otabek he wasn’t so upset anymore. “I get it. It’s… in your nature, or whatever.”</p><p>“Still. I didn’t mean to…” Otabek trailed off. “I love you. I don’t want you to think that I’m… like all those other guys, you know?”</p><p>“You’re not.” Yuri said softly. He was stroking a hand through Otabek’s short hair, his piano fingers leaving a tingling sensation in their wake. “I know you’re not. I knew it the day I met you.”</p><p>“That’s sweet.” Otabek smiled slightly.</p><p>“It’s true. And I love you too.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. XIII</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Y: Something happened. I need you</p><p>Otabek was in the middle of a class when he received the text from Yuri. It was ominous, and dread filled Otabek’s chest as he stared at it. His mind immediately began conjuring up images of all the worst things that could’ve happened.</p><p>His physics professor was going on about one thing or another, but Otabek hadn’t really been paying attention for the last half hour. It was late, almost 8:30pm, and he’d been looking forward to collapsing into his bed after this class. He figured he could just copy notes off a friend if he needed to.</p><p>After a second of hesitation, he started packing up his things. Emil, sitting beside him, gave him a confused look and whispered, “Where you goin’, man?”</p><p>“Uh. Emergency with the boyfriend, I guess.” he whispered back. </p><p>“Oh.” Emil frowned, “What happened?” </p><p>“Not sure.” He shoved his notebook into his backpack and slipped out the door (he always sat near the door), giving a half-hearted wave to his friend on the way out. </p><p>As soon as he was out the door, he was calling Yuri. He listened to the dialing sound until he got to his bike.</p><p>“Hello?” Yuri’s voice was small and weak, and Otabek could tell even through the tinny phone that he was crying.</p><p>“Yura?” Otabek said. “Are you okay?”</p><p>A sniffle, “Yeah. I just-- I’m at the hospital…”</p><p>“Why?” Otabek asked, alarmed. “What happened?” He suddenly wished he had his parent’s car instead of his motorcycle so he could drive and talk on the phone at the same time.</p><p>“Grandpa had a heart attack.” Yuri breathed. “I’m, uh, I’m in the waiting room right now.”</p><p>Otabek practically deflated. Not that he wasn’t worried about Nikolai, but he was just relieved it wasn’t Yuri that was hurt. “How long have you been there?”</p><p>“Just a few minutes.” the omega said. He sounded miserable and Otabek hated it.</p><p>“I’m leaving right now, baby. I’ll be there in… less than an hour. Okay?”</p><p>“...Okay.” He hated to hear Yuri sound so sad, and hated to leave him hanging, but he’d much rather be there in person. He couldn’t start the drive until they hung up. He was good at driving a motorcycle, but even he wasn’t stupid enough to try to ride one handed.</p><p>“I love you.” Otabek murmured. “I’ll be there soon.”</p><p>“Okay. Love you too.” Yuri said. Otabek didn’t waste any time before pocketing his phone and pulling on his helmet.</p><p>The drive there was surprisingly calm. His eyes strained against bright headlights against the dark sky, but the wind on his face and the feeling of speed made up for it.</p><p>He thought about Yuri in foster care again. But then remembered that Yuri was 18 now, meaning he wouldn’t probably be accepted back into foster care. He knew his parents would let Yuri stay with them for a couple months if they had to, and Otabek would try his hardest to smuggle the omega into his dorm for as long as he could, but… he knew that wouldn’t be sustainable. He would drop out of college if Yuri really needed him to, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t try everything else first.</p><p>He shook his head. Nikolai wasn’t even dead yet. And might not die. He couldn’t start assuming he was dead already.</p><p>Traffic wasn’t terrible for a Thursday night. The town was pretty small, so there was only one main hospital. He parked in the parking garage and power-walked to the main lobby as fast as he could. It was too bright and there was a distinct hospital smell which wasn’t comforting at all, and soft music playing quietly from speakers attached to the walls. Chairs were set up around the room arm to arm, and people were dotted around in them.</p><p>Yuri had been sitting in a chair in the corner of the room, looking absolutely miserable. His hair was messy and his eyes were red. He’d been crying. The sleeves of his sweatshirt were damp with his tears. He was staring at the floor with a heartbreaking frown tugging at his lips, but he looked up when he saw Otabek’s shoes standing in front of him.</p><p>Yuri stood and Otabek pulled him into his arms, leaning down and scenting him as Yuri did the same. His scent was sour, so much so that it overpowered its usual flowery sweetness. He was sure the other people in the sitting room could smell his distress. Otabek wrinkled his nose at it, but scented him anyway, letting Yuri breath in his own hopefully comforting scent.</p><p>“I’m here.” he murmured into Yuri’s hair. “I’m right here.” Yuri felt small in his arms, curled into himself with hunched shoulders. He was crying again; Otabek could feel the damp patch on his shirt and the way Yuri’s shoulders shook.</p><p>“They haven’t told me anything.” he sniffled. His voice was rough and quiet, as if he knew he would start sobbing if he was any louder. “I rode in the ambulance, but… they made me wait out here.”</p><p>“How long ago did he…?”</p><p>“Like… ten minutes before I texted you.” Yuri said, nuzzling further into Otabek’s neck. He rubbed Yuri’s back and combed his fingers through his hair.</p><p>“It’s okay.” Otabek whispered again, because he didn’t know what else to say. He raised his head and saw that most people were respectfully looking away, giving them an illusion of privacy in this public waiting room. A couple people caught Otabek’s eye and gave them a sympathetic smile. “You want me to ask at the front desk?”</p><p>Yuri thought for a moment, and nodded. Otabek kissed his head and gently pushed him to sit down again. “I’ll be right back.” he promised. Yuri took a deep breath and Otabek lingered for a moment before walking away.</p><p>The beta lady at the front desk had seen him coming and gave him a sympathetic smile. He didn’t even have to say anything before she spoke. “I’m sorry, sweetie. Mister Plisetsky is in critical condition right now, but we’ll let you know as soon as he’s stable.”</p><p>Otabek nodded and sighed. “Thanks.”</p><p>“Of course hon.” she smiled and turned back to her computer. </p><p>Otabek walked back to Yuri and sat down beside him in a slump, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and pulling him into his chest over the armrest. Yuri looked up at him expectantly.</p><p>“Nothing.” Otabek whispered, rubbing Yuri’s shoulder. “She said she’ll let us know when he’s stable.”</p><p>Yuri whined and dropped his head to rest on Otabek’s shoulder. “Fuck.” he breathed</p><p>“Hey, it’s gonna be fine.” Otabek said, though he couldn’t know. Yuri shook his head into Otabek’s shoulder and they didn’t speak.</p><p>~~~</p><p>Mr. Feltsman had arrived at the hospital a half hour after Otabek had, and he was grateful to have someone there who might actually know what he was doing. Mr. Feltsman was a friend of Yuri’s family, though Otabek wasn’t sure to what extent. He seemed to regard Yuri as some sort of nephew or grandson. Otabek wondered if he had any kids of his own, and how he knew Nikolai, but he didn’t ask.</p><p>Mr. Feltsman and Yuri hugged and talked quietly about Nikolai. Otabek had greeted him with a polite handshake and some small talk. The man insisted he call him Yakov now that he was out of high school, which Otabek hadn’t known was his first name. He asked how Otabek was doing, what his major at college was, and gave updates about Ayana’s grade in his class. They were both careful to keep quiet, as Yuri had reluctantly said he had a headache.</p><p>The doctor finally emerged about two hours later, and lead them out of the public waiting room, which was Otabek’s first suspicion that something was wrong. He followed Yakov and Yuri down a static hallway, Yuri grasping his hand almost too tight, but he didn’t say anything about it. They were lead to a hospital room on one of the lower floors, but the doctor didn’t open the door yet.</p><p>The doctor, who Otabek didn’t bother to learn the name of, was sorry to inform them that Nikolai hadn’t survived the heart attack. He had fought for as long as he could, but ultimately lost the battle.</p><p>The news was devastating.</p><p>He watched as Yuri’s face crumbled, and the tears started to fall again, coming faster this time. He pulled Yuri into his chest just as he started sobbing.</p><p>Yakov took Nikolai’s certificate of death earnestly, and the doctor gave them a few minutes alone, opening the door and allowing them inside. He said they’d have to leave soon because of hospital policy, but none of them were really listening.</p><p>Yuri only started crying harder when he saw Nikolai’s body laying on the hospital bed, and turned to hide from the sight in Otabek’s shoulder. It seemed he couldn’t bear to look at it. </p><p>There was no IV stuck stuck in his hand, no special equipment turned on. He didn’t need it anymore. There was no beeping, no wheezing breaths every other second like there had been the last time Otabek had seen Nikolai in a hospital. He was dead, no doubt about it. He wore a hospital gown, and he’d been laid out as if he were only sleeping, eyes closed with a peaceful expression on his face. His arms were folded with his hands resting on his stomach, and the blanket was pulled up to his chest.</p><p>Otabek held Yuri tight in his arms and stared over his head at Nikolai’s dead body. He’d been lucky enough to have never experienced death like this before, but that also meant he had no idea what to do.</p><p>He found his own eyes watering. Nikolai had always been kind to him, treated him like part of the family. He had always done everything he could to support Yuri, and that meant also supporting Otabek. He blinked up at the ceiling in an effort to keep the tears away. He had to be strong for Yuri.</p><p>Eventually Yuri sat down in the chair beside the bed. He hesitantly reached out to take Nikolai’s hand. Otabek imagined it would be cold and stiff, and Yuri kept letting go and grabbing it over and over. It must have felt different than he remembered.</p><p>“I’m so sorry, Yuri.” Yakov said. He had taken off his hat, and held it solemnly to his chest. </p><p>Yuri didn’t respond, just stared at Nikolai’s face and cried silently. Otabek’s heart broke a little bit seeing Yuri’s jaw shaking and the way he looked absolutely gutted. His eyes were puffy and red, and his hair was messy from pulling on it while they were waiting.</p><p>Otabek’s feet were hurting after twenty minutes of Yuri sitting there, but he didn’t want to intrude by sitting on Nikolai’s cot.</p><p>“What’s that?” Yuri asked, his voice completely monotone. He was looking at the piece of paper held carefully in Yakov’s hands.</p><p>“Nikolai’s certificate of death.” the man answered. “I’ll register it tomorrow, Yurochka. Don’t worry about it.”</p><p>“...And the funeral?” Yuri asked, now staring at Nikolai again.</p><p>“I’ll take care of it.” Yakov said. “Your grandfather already took care of most things. Don’t worry.”</p><p>Yuri nodded absently. “...What about the house?”</p><p>“...Don’t worry about it for now, Yuri.” Yakov tried to smile, but it looked more like a grimace. “We should be going soon. It’s late. You haven’t eaten.” Yuri must have given him a skeptical look. “There’s nothing to be done right now.”</p><p>“I don’t want to leave him here.” Yuri said.</p><p>“There’s nothing to be done right now.” the man repeated sadly.</p><p>Yuri looked like he wanted to argue, but instead just rose from his chair and fell into Otabek’s arms. “I’ll stay with you.” Otabek murmured, and kissed his head. “I don’t want you to be alone tonight.” He felt Yuri nod his head, but they didn’t leave the room for another couple minutes.</p><p>“Thank you, Otabek.” Yakov said once they were in the lobby. “For being with him.”</p><p>Otabek looked down at Yuri, who was bundled in his arms staring at the floor. “Of course. You couldn’t pry me away from him now.” he tried to smile but failed.</p><p>“That’s good to hear.” Yakov said. “I’m going to speak with the doctors for a moment if you want to take him home.”</p><p>“Sure. Thank you for uh… handling all of this…” Otabek said. “I have no idea how… any of this works.”</p><p>“Nikolai was old.” Feltsman said sadly. “We talked about this long ago. I promised him I’d take care of things, and he promised me too, so… I will.” Then he turned to Yuri. “Stay with Otabek tonight, Yurochka. Eat something. Take care of Potya. Make Otabek call me if you need anything.”</p><p>“Okay…” Yuri mumbled. He only pulled away from Otabek for a moment to give Yakov a short hug before they were on their way out of the hospital.</p><p>They were quiet as Otabek lead him outside to the parking lot, where he had parked as close to the front as he could in his haste to get to Yuri. It was dark outside, and Otabek checked his watch to see that it was almost midnight.</p><p>He handed Yuri the helmet but didn’t get on his bike yet. “When’s the last time you ate?” Otabek asked.</p><p>Yuri bristled and looked at him tiredly, “I’m fine, Beka.”</p><p>“That’s not what I asked.” Otabek said gently.</p><p>Yuri sighed. “We were in the middle of dinner when he…” He took a deep breath. “I thought he was choking at first…”</p><p>“I’m sorry.” Otabek whispered, and embraced him. “I love you. We’re gonna get through this.”</p><p>“Can we go home?” Yuri asked.</p><p>Otabek kissed his forehead and took the helmet from his hands. He put it on Yuri’s head and buckled the strap under his chin for him, making sure not to get it caught in his hair.</p><p>The ride there was short. It was at least twenty minutes, but it felt short. Otabek felt exhaustion settling in and couldn’t wait to fall into bed with Yuri, and sleep.</p><p>He let Yuri open the door, though he had long ago memorized the passcode, and ushered Yuri up to his room. He insisted Yuri get ready for bed while Otabek cleaned up the abandoned dinner plates in the dining room and fed Potya.</p><p>The only reason he didn’t make Yuri eat something was that it seemed that they had both eaten a fair amount of their plates before they’d been interrupted.</p><p>Upstairs he found Yuri curled up in his bed. The light was left on and Yuri was texting someone. Otabek asked who as he stripped down to his boxers and crawled into bed.</p><p>“Mila.” Yuri mumbled. “She’d be mad if I didn’t tell her about this.”</p><p>Otabek hummed. “She would be.”</p><p>“It doesn’t feel real.” Yuri said, locking his phone and turning to plug it in. “It’s gonna sink in soon and that’s… gonna suck.”</p><p>“I’ll be here as long as you need me.” Otabek promised. Yuri turned off the lamp and crawled into Otabek’s arms, pulling the blanket up to cover them both.</p><p>“You’ll never leave then.” Yuri breathed.</p><p>“I’d drop out of college if you needed me to.”</p><p>“Beka, no.” Yuri frowned at him and cupped his cheek with one hand. “That’s stupid. Don’t do that. You’ll go back soon.”</p><p>“I can take a week or two off for you.” Otabek said. “Work too.”</p><p>“You don’t…” Yuri trailed off. He must have thought better and just nuzzled into Otabek’s neck. “I love you.”</p><p>“I love you too. We’re gonna get through this.” he said for the second time that night.</p><p>“I know.” Yuri whispered.</p><p>~~~</p><p>Yuri had slept restlessly, only comforted by his alpha’s soothing embrace whenever he woke up in the night. Otabek whispered sweet things into his ear until he fell back asleep every time, and Yuri imagined Otabek must have been getting sick of it by the fourth time, but he never said anything.</p><p>He woke up in the morning alone and cold. His eyes ached from crying and he was covered in sweat. He was wrapped up in his blanket and he burrowed into it further, hiding his face as if that would make all of this go away. </p><p>Otabek wasn’t beside him and Yuri was only reassured when he heard someone climbing the creaky stairs in the hallway. The door creaked open slowly and Otabek stuck his head in. Yuri lifted his head from the blanket to see that he had put on his jeans from the previous day and nothing else.</p><p>“You’re awake.” Otabek observed and came to sit on the bed. Yuri hummed as Otabek brushed his hair out of his face with a soft look in his eyes. “Yakov called your home phone earlier.”</p><p>“...What time is it?” Yuri croaked, and cleared his throat.</p><p>“Almost 11. He wants to take us to lunch.” Otabek said. He traced nonsense patterns on Yuri’s face with feather light pressure, leaving a tingling sensation. Yuri hummed again. “Meaning we should start getting ready to go.”</p><p>“I don’t want to go anywhere.” Yuri whined, turning his head and burying his face in the pillow. The idea of leaving his house was entirely unpleasant. He never wanted to leave his bed, let alone his house. </p><p>“I know, baby.” Otabek sighed, hand moving to trace patterns on Yuri’s back instead. “I’ll take care of everything, I promise.”</p><p>And then he was being dragged out of bed. He let out a long drawn out whine as the cold of the room hit his body and he was lifted off the bed. He latched his arms around Otabek’s shoulders and buried his face in Otabek’s neck as he was carried out of his bedroom.</p><p>Yuri fixed Otabek with a grumpy scowl as he was set down on the toilet seat of the upstairs bathroom. Otabek wet his toothbrush and handed it to Yuri before grabbing his own tooth brush, and Yuri complied only because he knew it would take more energy to argue about going out.</p><p>Otabek drew him a bath and washed his hair for him, even going so far as to grab a washcloth from the closet in the hallway to scrub Yuri’s skin. The omega didn’t protest, but couldn’t bring himself to smile at Otabek’s efforts either. He was numb.</p><p>He let Otabek dry him off and lead him back to his bedroom. Otabek leaned down to kiss his cheek sadly before turning back to take a quick shower himself. He left Yuri standing in the middle of his bedroom, wearing nothing but a towel around his waist.</p><p>Slowly, mechanically, Yuri got dressed. He didn’t bother putting on anything nice or fashionable, just threw on one of Otabek’s old sweatshirts that was way too big on him and probably dirty, and black leggings. He thought about skinny jeans for a moment before deciding he was too tired to bother with them.</p><p>He collapsed back onto his bed and didn’t bother pulling the blanket up to cover him. He stared at the ceiling fan and thought about checking his phone, but decided against it. He knew Mila had probably responded since last night but he really didn’t care. Nothing she could say would make him feel any better.</p><p>He had just started getting sleepy again when Otabek came back in. His hair was damp and curly, but the rest of him was meticulously dried off. He found one of his own shirts buried in Yuri’s bed and put it on, along with his jeans from yesterday.</p><p>“Hey.” Otabek said, crawling to lay beside him. He didn’t open his eyes as he felt Otabek curl into him. He bared his neck and let Otabek scent him.</p><p>“When do we have to go?” Yuri asked quietly.</p><p>Otabek lifted his head to look at the alarm clock on Yuri’s nightstand. “We have a few minutes,”</p><p>At that, Yuri let out a deep breath and rolled over to hide his face in Otabek’s chest. “...I miss him already.”</p><p>“I know.” Otabek murmured. He started running his fingers through Yuri’s hair.</p><p>“I’m all alone now.” Yuri realized. He had no other family beside his grandfather. He was the last Plisetsky now. His heart ached and his face was suddenly hot.</p><p>“I’m right here.” Otabek held him tighter. “You’re not alone, baby. I’m here. And Yakov… You have Mila, and Viktor, other Yuuri… Hell, as much as I hate him, if you called JJ and told him you needed him, he’d be here so fast. You’re not alone.”</p><p>“T-They’re not…” Yuri took a deep breath and wiped his tears. “I meant… family.”</p><p>“Oh.” Otabek deflated.</p><p>“Sorry…”</p><p>“No, don’t be.” he kissed Yuri’s temple, but didn’t seem to know what to say after that. “...I love you.”</p><p>“Love you too.” Yuri sniffled.</p><p>They laid in bed for a few more minutes, and Yuri tried to savor it while he could. It didn’t last long, however, because Otabek had been glancing at the clock every few minutes, and after a while, finally convinced Yuri to stand up again.</p><p>“Where are we going?” Yuri asked as Otabek handed him his phone and wallet. He stuffed them both into the pouch in his (Otabek’s) sweatshirt.</p><p>“Some French place in town Yakov knows.” he said, grabbing his own phone, wallet, and keys. “We’re meeting him and his wife there.”</p><p>“Lilia…” Yuri hummed. He hadn’t seen her in a while. </p><p>“Come on.” Otabek steered him downstairs and out the door with a hand on his back, as if he would try to run away to avoid leaving the house. Otabek put his helmet on for him and they were off, kicking up dust on the gravel road as they zoomed past. Yuri just rested his head on Otabek’s shoulder and held his waist, hoping lunch would go by fast so he could go back home and mope.</p><p>~~~</p><p>The French place they decided to meet at was a small restaurant in a part of town Yuri didn’t have many excuses to go to very often. It was cozy and there was a fireplace in the middle of the lobby that they sadly didn’t sit near.</p><p>He gave short hugs to Yakov and Lilia, but ended up scooting his chair up to Otabek’s and hiding under his arm for most of the time.</p><p>Lilia was still her stern self. She had her hair pulled back in a bun that looked painful on her forehead, perfectly manicured nails and bright red lipstick. She always dressed as if she were a CEO in a business meeting, a sharp contrast to Yakov’s simple cardigan and fedora.</p><p>She told Yuri how sorry she was, how she wished they had visited more often, how they would take care of everything and how Yuri didn’t have to worry about the funeral or the house or the farm.</p><p>“Are you going to stay in that house until you graduate?” Yakov asked after they’d received their food. Yuri had reluctantly let go of Otabek so they could eat.</p><p>“If I can.” he shrugged.</p><p>Yakov scowled. “You’ll be alone there after Otabek goes back to college, yes?” </p><p>Otabek stopped mid bite, as if he hadn’t considered that yet. He swallowed his food and opened his mouth to speak, but Yuri sighed tiredly. “You can’t not go back.”</p><p>“You can’t be alone that long.” Otabek said right back.</p><p>“I’ll have Potya.”</p><p>“It’s not the same as being with another person.” he said, and then sighed. Yakov and Lilia looked between them for a moment of tense silence before Otabek spoke again. “You’ll stay with my family. You can bring Potya.”</p><p>“What?” Yuri frowned.</p><p>“Yeah.” Otabek hummed thoughtfully. “You can take my old room, just until the summer. My family loves you; they won’t mind.”</p><p>“Beka… I don’t…” He didn’t want to leave the house. It was Nikolai’s pride and joy, that farm. Every room in the house had memories, and he wasn’t ready to leave it. He sighed in frustration.</p><p>“What?” Otabek asked, his voice soft and encouraging. He took Yuri’s hand and squeezed.</p><p>“Nothing.” Yuri mumbled. “I don’t want to impose.”</p><p>“You’re not imposing. They’ll understand.” he said, and lowered his voice until it was a soothing rumble. “They love you. They’re always asking about you.”</p><p>“...Okay.” Yuri was too drained to argue further. He pushed his plate away from him and leaned his head on Otabek’s shoulder, letting his eyes rest for a minute.</p><p>~~~<br/>
The funeral was sooner than Otabek expected. Yakov, wisely, hadn’t brought it up when they’d gotten lunch, but he called to give them the details.</p><p>Yuri had been as devastated as you would guess. He stayed home on Friday, and Monday and Tuesday, and probably would for the rest of the week too, not that anyone expected him to get back to school yet anyway. Otabek had called his boss and told him there was a personal emergency and that he was taking time off for a couple weeks, which was all of his sick days but he couldn’t care less.</p><p>Their days consisted of lots of napping and watching TV together, sometimes taking walks around the grounds of the farm if Yuri felt up to it. They ran out of easy food after a few days and started ordering takeout more.</p><p>The best way to describe Yuri’s persevering mood was subdued. He didn’t laugh, didn’t smile. His voice was exhausted and his shoulders were perpetually slumped.</p><p>The only times Yuri bothered to take care of himself were when Otabek joined him in the shower and they brushed their teeth together. Yuri hadn’t been eating much or talking much, but Otabek kept him company through it all.</p><p>Otabek hadn’t worn a suit since Prom, and it felt strange to wear the same one to a funeral. It was the first funeral Otabek had ever had the misfortune to have to attend. He didn’t really know what to do, so he just lead Yuri into the church and greeted their friends, who had all made time to come.</p><p>Yuri wasn’t in a talking mood, and left their friends feeling a bit dejected at his lack of response to their attempts at cheering him up. Mila tried to glue herself to his side the second she saw him, but Yuri had pretty quickly drawn back into himself until she backed off.</p><p>Some of Nikolai’s friends had shown up as well, and Yuri gave clipped greetings to them, tugging Otabek along instead of staying to speak with any of them. Otabek’s own family had come too, at Otabek’s request. His parents smiled sadly at him and only stopped Yuri for a moment to offer their condolences respectfully, before letting Yuri drift away from them, tugging Otabek along with him.</p><p>Ayana shyly hugged him, and he hugged her back. They hugged for a long moment, and Otabek was glad Yuri would at least have her during school hours when he couldn’t be there.</p><p>Otabek held Yuri’s hand through the service, sitting in the front row of pews, closest to the open coffin, which Yuri still hadn’t worked up the courage to look at yet. Yakov and Lilia sat on Yuri’s other side, their friends sitting somewhere behind them. </p><p>He watched from the corner of his eyes as Yuri wiped his eyes, but stared straight ahead with his jaw clenched.</p><p>Afterward, he watched Yuri say goodbye to his grandfather from across the room.</p><p>~~~</p><p>Getting Yuri to go back to school was easier than expected. He’d protested when Otabek first brought it up, a few days after the funeral, but he knew he couldn’t just drop out of high school when he was less than two months away from graduating.</p><p>He was wrapped up in Otabek’s arms, standing beside Otabek’s parents’ car in the parking lot of the school. Students were filtering out of their cars and walking up to the school, donning tee shirts and shorts because it was particularly hot that day. Ayana had already gone in, granting them a moment alone before the school day started.</p><p>“I’ll bring you lunch.” Otabek promised, leaning down to kiss his cheek. “That Chinese place you like.”</p><p>Yuri didn’t know how Otabek hadn’t run out of money yet. He hadn’t been working, and had been spending money on Yuri as if it were nothing. It wasn’t nothing though, Yuri knew. He was beginning to feel bad about it.</p><p>“You don’t have to do that…” Yuri said softly.</p><p>“I know.” Otabek kissed his lips. “I’ll do it anyway.”</p><p>Yuri sighed. There wasn’t any point in arguing about it, and he didn’t have the energy anyway. “...Thanks.”</p><p>“Of course. You better get in there.” Otabek said. “I’ll be waiting out front at 12:20.”</p><p>Yuri pouted. He didn’t want to go. He’d gotten so used to Otabek being by his side constantly that the idea of spending even a few hours without him was daunting. “Bye.” he said reluctantly.</p><p>“Love you.” Otabek said as Yuri started walking away.</p><p>“Love you too.” he replied without turning around. He was sure if he looked back he would lose his resolve, and then have to deal with Otabek’s disappointed face, which was not a pleasant one.</p><p>So he soldiered on, making it to his first class with ten minutes to spare. He scowled at his shoes before forcing himself to ask the teacher for his missing work.</p><p>~~~</p><p>Finding Otabek exactly where he said he’d be at 12:20 was a relief. He was already completely mentally exhausted, and all he wanted to do was curl up in bed with his alpha and never get up again.</p><p>He practically threw himself at Otabek the second he was inside the car, the center console digging into his hip, but he didn’t care. </p><p>“Hey baby.” Otabek hugged him back just as tight. He nuzzled into Otabek’s neck and breathed in his scent. His face was hot and he felt the tears he had been trying to hold back all day, coming back full force now that he was safe with his alpha. “Hey…” Otabek lowered his voice to a soothing rumble, and took to running his fingers through Yuri’s hair. “It’s okay… I’m here.”</p><p>He took deep breaths of Otabek’s scent, trying to get himself under control again.</p><p>“What’s wrong?” Otabek murmured, ducking his head to scent him. “Did something happen?”<br/>
‘<br/>
“N-No…” Yuri breathed. “I don’t know. Today is terrible.”</p><p>“Why?”</p><p>“Make me smell more like you.” he sniffled. “I’ve had four different alphas try and ask me what’s wrong today. I hate this. I wish you were there.”</p><p>“Yura…” Otabek frowned. “Come here.” He leaned further over the center console and bared his neck, letting Otabek scent him and leave little love bites on his jugular. Yuri let out a sigh and cradled the back of Otabek’s head.</p><p>There was some kind of rock music playing quietly through the radio, he noticed now that he was calming down a little. The car smelled mostly like Ayana now, but also of the Chinese food in takeout containers at Yuri’s feet. He was glad he hadn’t knocked them over in his haste to get to Otabek.</p><p>Otabek pulled back after a couple minutes, only to kiss Yuri and gesture to their food which was probably getting cold by then.</p><p>“I want you to take me home.” Yuri said as they ate from styrofoam cartons with plastic spoons and forks.</p><p>“Mh.” Otabek hummed. “Just a few more hours.”</p><p>“I know.” Yuri pouted.</p><p>“You can’t fail this year, baby.” Otabek said, turning to look at him with a sympathetic yet stern expression. “If you don’t graduate, we can’t… move in together, and stuff.” Otabek finished lamely, breaking eye contact first for once.</p><p>They hadn’t really had a serious talk about it, but there had been some offhand comments, mostly from Yuri, about how nice it would be to wake up beside each other every day. For the last thing they see at night to be each other. To be all domestic and gross like Viktor and Other Yuuri were.</p><p>Yuri’s lips twitched slightly, the first ghost of a smile he’d had in more than a week. “...Okay.”</p><p>The prospect of moving in together was more than enough motivation to go to school, at the very least.</p>
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